WATCH | Kaizer Chiefs supporters march to Naturena to protest poor performance

Supporters of Kaizer Chiefs marched to the club’s headquarters in Naturena on Friday to hand a memorandum to management expressing their dissatisfaction with the underperformance of Amakhosi, and demanding better.

Between 50 and 100 supporters marched, and the memorandum was handed to Chiefs’ marketing director Jessica Motaung.

News and details of the march were circulated in the past week via social media and spread via the Twitter handles #KaizerChiefsPeacefulProtest #KaizerChiefsMarch and #KaizerChiefsProtest.

The turnout may not have been huge from supporters of a club that number in their millions, but history was made as no top-flight team’s supporters in the Premier Soccer League era had ever put together an organised protest to express their grievances to their side.

And some supporters who did arrive for the march said they had come from as far as the Free State.

Mohau Tlali (29), one of the organisers of the march, said the idea began among a group of the club’s supporters in December.

“Around December we met at a soccer tournament. But then we had to go out and research first because we didn’t just want to go there and strike,” Tlali said.

“So we took about four months to plan this protest. It was a group of us — I think we were less than 20 then, until we went to Twitter and got everyone here.”

Motaung, addressing the marchers, said: “We are welcoming you here in the spirit of Love and Peace [Chiefs’ slogan] because you are here because you are really passionate and love this team.”

She said she could not make promises but that the protesters’ demands and pleas had been heard.

The memorandum that was read out included demands that Chiefs sign better class players more consistently, start a women’s team, and show greater ambition trying to win a continental competition. Also that Amakhosi stop treating fans as commodities to whom merchandise is efficiently marketed and sold, but then the club not returning that investment by spending on success on the field.

Chiefs are in the midst of their sixth season without a trophy having previously gone at most only a single campaign without silverware. They are in 10th place in the 2020-21 DStv Premiership and in danger of a worse finish than their previous two worst positions of ninth.