Kaizer Chiefs are currently using the soccer fields of amateur side WWNA for their training sessions. WWNA is based about a five-minute drive from the Bilderberg Hotel De Keizerskroon in Apeldoorn where the Glamour Boys are based for their pre-season camp in the Netherlands.

A group of volunteers of WWNA are preparing the pitches every day with a big heart and a real passion for their club.

Not only is Chiefs enjoying the WWNA-pitches. Two weeks ago, Romanian top side Steaua Bucharest trained here too.

In recent years, a variety of international sides have used the WWNA-facilities, from Espanyol (Spain), Fiorentina (Italy) to Paok Salonika (Greece).

Also, Dutch sides regularly come to WWNA to train. The fields are not only perfectly maintained and prepared, but the club is also beautifully situated, surrounded by big trees, which gives it all a pleasant feel.

In addition to the volunteers being masters of working on the pitches, they are also real soccer fans, always making time to watch Amakhosi train. Some of them even attended the first pre-season training match against Vitesse.

"I love seeing the drive of the players at training," comments Herman Boer, while keeping a close eye on Chiefs' training session. "To be honest, that's quite different from what we saw of Steaua Bucharest.

"The guys really seem to enjoy their training sessions. Furthermore, the players are all very friendly and will forever politely greet us. Normally with other sides that have trained here, the players have their headphones on and basically ignore us."

Boer admits that he had not heard of Kaizer Chiefs before they came to Holland, but he immediately Googled the Club's name as soon as he was informed that the Glamour Boys were going to use the facilities of his club, WWNA. He then discovered the illustrious history of the Club and how popular they are in South Africa.

"I like the goalkeeper with jersey number one, he's so unbelievably good," Boer enthuses, referring to Brandon Petersen.

Herman Kieskamp, also one of the volunteers, meanwhile, loves "the defender with jersey number four", Zitha Kwinika. "He really impresses me."

"The squad has a lot of young talent," Kieskamp observes, while keeping track of a small game being played on the training pitch. "That's great. A club that nurtures the youth, holds the future."

"It's marvellous to see how the players really enjoy their sessions," adds yet another WWNA-volunteer, Geert Heerema. " Not all teams training here have that same enthusiasm. The Chiefs guys are very fanatic and fully focused on trying to do each exercise as perfect as possible.

"Besides this, I enjoy seeing how mobile Chiefs' players are, they turn, and swerve left or right in an instant."

Boer came to watch Amakhosi face Vitesse on Tuesday evening in Driel, about a 35-minute drive from Apeldoorn. "I thought Chiefs were very competitive," he reflects on the game. "You could see how they use their training practices during the game, like putting early pressure on the opponent's defence.

"They played as an organised unit. Of course, everybody wants to win, but pre-season is above all, getting the team ready for the season.

"If you train well and play well, results will follow."

The only South African club the volunteer knew about so far was Ajax Cape Town (nowadays, Cape Town Spurs), because of the connection with Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam. However, Boer and all the other volunteers will from now on keep a close eye on the results of Amakhosi.

"Kaizer Chiefs have stolen my heart," Boer concludes.

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