‘The sales after the Nedbank Cup trophy win were incredible,’ said Kappa sports director Ricky Joseph.
Kaizer Chiefs will host Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko on Saturday in the Toyota Cup at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, with Amakhosi certainly hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened in the same competition a year ago.
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With Nasreddine Nabi only just having taken over as head coach, Chiefs were battered 4-0 by Young Africans at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, an embarrassing result even for a pre-season friendly.
Chiefs’ smiles return
In the Betway Premiership, Chiefs’ season would go equally badly, Nabi’s side ending up in ninth place in the table. Their saving grace was the Nedbank Cup, where Chiefs won a first trophy in a decade, putting even more of a smile on their supporters faces by beating Orlando Pirates in the final.
At the launch of Chiefs’ new kit this week for the 2025/26 season, Kappa sports director Ricky Joseph said Amakhosi’s cup win has helped sky-rocket shirt sales.
“I can tell you now that we’ve pre-sold more jerseys for this third season than for all previous seasons combined,” he told journalists.
“I think that it’s an indication of the excitement with the fans.
“Winning the Nedbank Cup has given the fans more belief and more reason to buy. The sales after the Nedbank Cup trophy win were incredible.”
Chiefs will wear the new home shirt for the first half against Kotoko and the away shirt in the second half.
Winning the Nedbank Cup did not stop rumours that Nasreddine Nabi would lose his job at Chiefs.
In the end the Tunisian remained in charge, and led the pre-season camp in the Netherlands.
But Nabi’s Chiefs could still do with showing against Kotoko that they look like a side capable of playing better football, more consistently in the 2025/26 season.
Fans in Durban should also get an idea on Saturday of which of Chiefs’ new signings are set to start when Chiefs kick off their Betway Premiership campaign on August 10 away to Stellenbosch.
Kotoko test
With Chiefs not playing in next weekend’s MTN8, the Kotoko game represents their best chance at competitive football before the league season starts.
Kotoko, like Chiefs, won their FA Cup last season, and will also play in this season’s Caf Confederation Cup.
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So the game should also give Amakhosi an idea of the challenge they are likely to face in that competition.