Kaizerchiefs.com caught up with the Kaizer Chiefs Marketing Director, Jessica Motaung immediately after making a presentation on Marketing at the Soweto Festival held at the University of Johannesburg, Soweto Campus.

Kaizer Chiefs has been here at the Festival since Wednesday, 24 September (Heritage Day). What have you made of the Club’s participation in this year’s edition of Soweto Festival?

It has been special! Kaizer Chiefs has its roots in Soweto and our participation in the Festival has added another layer of interaction with our supporters here. People have responded positively to our products and the players were here on Heritage Day to share the trophy with the residence of Soweto.

What do you think were the highlights of this year’s Festival?

A highlight was meeting all the different young people. Obviously, e Players visit with the MTN 8 Trophy following our emphatic victory in Durban was good. There were a number of quality speakers who shared their insights on different career opportunities, and the positive interaction and feedback from the youth who took time to attend the event. A special session was on Thursday with Thebe Mothale, Education and Life Skills Manager and Elsa Storm, Fitness and Health Instructor. They really captivated the crowd, encouraged good participation, and shared insights on careers in football and gave helpful tips to keep the young people physically active.

What is your view of the event organisation?

This is the first time Kaizer Chiefs has participated in the Festival and had a stand in the Youth Zone. There have been many learnings. We are proud that together with Standard Bank, we have been able to make a significant input in this year’s festival. Our hall was unique and allowed us to interact with the visitors to our stand. Being in the Youth Zone was great. There is certainly a room for improvement! Thank you to the organiser and all who work to make our stay at the Festival a pleasant one.

What is the position of Kaizer Chiefs on youth development and recruitment programmes given the proposals which emerged at the Festival through networking and interacting with representatives of universities and youth structures within and around Soweto?

We are open to partnerships. We are currently speaking to various institutions to ensure that we create opportunities for our young supporters. We currently have a relationship with CJC for our young players at the development. Soccer is not the only issue on the table here, but we are looking at developing our young players holistically and partnerships with institutions are important and, help us in achieving our goals.

During your presentation, one of the Club supporters asked about Kaizer Chiefs TV. How far are we from making that historic announcement?

(Smiling) We are close to clinching a deal with one of the broadcasters; and we will make an announcement soon. We have already launched KC Web TV. Kaizer Chiefs was the first football club to launch web TV in the South Africa soccer industry. It has grown in terms of content and we have received a good feedback from people domestically and abroad. I am amazed with the number of hits we receive on KCwebTV. It is time to take it to the next level by launching our own programme on TV.

Can we see Kaizer Chiefs coming back here, in Soweto in a big way?

Soweto is home for Kaizer Chiefs! We have a centre in Dlamini where our supporters are able to buy our merchandise, and join the Amakhosi Supporters Club. The centre allows us to interact with our supporters consistently. Soweto is where it all started with the Chairman growing up in Pefeni, and so coming back here is natural for us, it is not a coincidence. Some of our legends, current players and management were also born here.

It is good to be back!!