Johannesburg — Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs are in the advanced stages of launching their own women's side according to the club's marketing director Jessica Motaung.
Amakhosi are set to follow in the footsteps of clubs like the now defunct Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Royal AM most recently.
Motaung, who was also recently appointed as part of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Organising Committee for Women Football Standing Committee from 2022-2024, said that there was great enthusiasm brewing inside the club for this initiative.
"It's an exciting time for us to come on but we have to take baby steps, we still have to finalise our team for the league at domestic level and then obviously Champions League and hopefully play our role on the continent and then the world but Chiefs is excited to get into this space and we're going to announce our team soon," said Motaung.
Motaung confirmed that the club aims to participate in the Hollywoodbets Super League and that Chiefs are currently engaged in talks to purchase the top-flight status from one of the teams currently plying their trade there.
"Certainly yes, if we want to play at the Hollywoodbets level then we have to (buy the status of another club), it would be great to start our own team but it has its implications. So we're excited by the negotiations and the kind of partnerships we're embarking on," she said.
"We're in negotiations and discussion and we're excited about what the future holds for us as Kaizer Chiefs."
The fourth edition of the Hollywoodbets Super League kicks off in February, with 15 teams looking to unseat defending league Champions Sundowns Ladies, who have won the last three titles.
The league has added two more teams from the original 14 that featured in the inaugural campaign and continues to improve with each season.
Sundowns Ladies' achievements on the continent continue to invigorate the women's game domestically as shown in Banyana Banyana's Wafcon triumph last year.
Motaung appears to be leading Chiefs’ charge toward their involvement in the women's game and she believes the domestic league requires more support if the nation is to keep up with both continental and global standards.
When asked what she thought about the league gaining TV rights every two weeks Motaung said: "I don't think it's sufficient, the league needs evolution, it needs change and the clubs need more rights to invest in and get partners in and those are the kind of discussions we need to have with Safa and I'm excited I'll get to talk to the president about it."
IOL Sport