AFCON 2025: Kaze hails Bafana Bafana call-ups as proof of Kaizer Chiefs’ revival

Kaizer Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze believes the inclusion of four Amakhosi players in Bafana Bafana’s preliminary squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is a clear sign of progress at the club.

National team coach Hugo Broos named Brandon Petersen, Bradley Cross, Thabiso Monyane and Mduduzi Shabalala in his 55-man provisional list ahead of Monday’s final squad announcement.

For Chiefs, this marks a significant turnaround. At last year’s AFCON in Ivory Coast, not a single Amakhosi player made the cut, a statistic Kaze told SABC Sport is now firmly in the past.

“I think it’s a reward for all the efforts everyone has been putting in,” said Kaze. “Maybe six months or a year ago, we didn’t have any players in Bafana, and now we have four, even if it’s still the pre-selection.”

Kaze added that the call-ups reflect both individual growth and collective improvement within the squad.

“It shows the progress the team has made, and the players now understand the importance of that. We just hope everyone stays consistent. If the team keeps going in the right direction, in the future we will have even more players selected.”

The recognition comes at a crucial time for Chiefs, who have been working to rebuild under Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef after a challenging period. With AFCON 2025 set to kick off in Morocco, the Soweto giants will be watching closely to see if their quartet makes the final cut.