Kaizer Chiefs coach: What you should know about Nasreddine Nabi

Published on by Joel Oliver, updated on

The veteran Tunisian tactician is the man tasked with reviving Amakhosi’s fortunes

Kaizer Chiefs confirmed the appointment of Tunisian coach Nasreddine Nabi in July after weeks of speculation that linked him to the hot seat.

Chiefs were in the market for a new coach after an underwhelming 2023-24 season that saw them finish a disappointing 10th in the PSL under Calvin Johnson.

After scouring the continent and being linked with a number of names, the club settled on the 59-year-old who is highly experienced on the continent.

Nasreddine Nabi with his interpretor 1

What are Nasreddine Nabi’s credentials?

Born in Monastir, a city in the central coast of Tunisia, Nabi is a highly traveled coach on the continent and has coached some of Africa’s biggest teams, enjoying success along the way, and it is that impressive CV that earned him the Chiefs job.

Nabi’s coaching journey has taken him to Libya with Al-Ahly Benghazi (2013) before moving to Sudan to handle Al-Hilal between 2013 and 2014. He would return to North Africa to coach Egyptian club Ismaily from 2015-2016 after which he had brief spells in Italy with PDHA and Sudan again with Al-Merreikh.

After leaving Al-Merreikh in 2021, Nabi moved to Tanzania to join Yanga where he truly made a mark. Nabi returned a struggling Yanga back to the top of Tanzanian football, dislodging Simba SC, as he won back-to-back league titles in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

He also led Yanga to the CAF Confederation Cup final in 2023, a first for the club, after which he switched to FAR Rabat in Morocco where he nearly won the league and cup before losing out to Raja Casablanca last season.

Kaizer Motaung Jr. and Nasreddine Nabi
Kaizer Motaung Jr. and Nasreddine Nabi, Image – Kaizer Chiefs

Nabi’s FAR Rabat were top of the standings in Morocco for several weeks until the speculation linking him to the Chiefs job coincided with their dip in form and they ended up losing the league title by just one point while missing out on the Throne Cup in the final.

How long will Nasreddine Nabi be at Kaizer Chiefs?

Chiefs fans would be hoping for that kind of success at Naturena under Nabi who signed a two-year contract with an option to extend by another year.

“After what has been a fairly exhaustive vetting process, it gives us great pleasure to finally welcome our new head coach to Kaizer Chiefs,” said Sporting Director, Kaizer Motaung Jr when confirming his appointment.

“We believe we have found the right man to fulfill our vision of restoring Amakhosi to our rightful place at the top of the football pyramid, and we welcome coach Nabi and his technical team with the pledge of unity and support in pursuit of our common goal.”

Kaizer Chiefs confirm Nabi's contract details, announce new technical team members
Nasreddine Nabi and rest of technical team members of Kaizer Chiefs

Who is working with Nasreddine Nabi at Kaizer Chiefs?

One of the main reasons Nabi agreed to come to Chiefs was that he was allowed to bring in his own men with his backroom staff full of people he is familiar with.

Khalil Ben Youssef is serving as his first assistant coach while Fernando Da Cruz was the second assistant coach, before he left early in September, for a role at the Moroccan football association. Ilyes Mzoughi is the goalkeeping coach while Safi Majdi works as the strength and conditioning and assistant coach.

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Joel Oliver

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.