Motaung shares what is to blame for Kaizer Chiefs’ early Nedbank Cup exit

Kaizer Chiefs Football Manager Bobby Motaung has reacted to the team’s exit from the Nedbank Cup following a 2-1 loss to Stellenbosch FC on Wednesday.

Chiefs will not defend their crown after suffering a Round of 32 elimination and are now left to contest the PSL and Nedbank Cup.

Reflecting on the loss, Motaung has blamed their woes on a fixture pileup which he feels had an impact on the players despite a host of changes made by coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef.

“It’s part of the game. We miss chances like we should have scored. It’s part of the game, and we have to focus on the future, which is the upcoming game on Sunday,” Motaung said as quoted by FARPost.

Motaung blames fixtures congestion

“It’s a tough one. We have been on a tight schedule with competitions. The League, the CAF Confederation Cup, and the Nedbank Cup. So we will now focus on the League and the Confederation Cup. We lost, and it’s out of the picture now.”

Seeming to put pressure on the team and coaching staff, Motaung has suggested the Confederation Cup is a competition they must win after exiting the Nedbank Cup and Carling Knockout earlier in the season.

'𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗢𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲' – 𝗕𝗼𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗧𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗖𝘂𝗽 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁

Kaizer Chiefs football manager Bobby Motaung insists that Amakhosi need to regroup following their Nedbank Cup elimination and shift the club's focus toward the… pic.twitter.com/LqgTCOqG13

— FARPost_ZA (@FARPostZA) February 6, 2026

Chiefs will take on Egyptian side Al Masry at home on Sunday and a win will edge them closer to the quarter-final with one match to go. Motaung feels his team must seize the opportunity.

“It’s a Cup final for us on Sunday. We need to qualify and we need to be positive,” he added. We have been doing well so far up until the loss on Wednesday. So we have to regain our confidence and bounce back and be positive.”

Where are Chiefs in CAF CC and PSL?

“For us, it’s very important. We want to go to the final of this Cup [Confederation Cup]. We have this Cup to challenge for, and we have the league to challenge for,” the Chiefs boss further stated.

Chiefs head into Sunday’s match in third spot in their group but level on seven points with second-placed Zamalek, who take on already eliminated ZESC United this weekend.

With Al Masry on eight, Chiefs cannot afford to drop points as that would leave them under massive pressure heading into the final group stage game away to Zamalek.

In the PSL, the Soweto giants are five points behind leaders Orlando Pirates, having accumulated 30 from 15 games, and two adrift of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns, making for a tight title race.