WeeklySA_AdminICONIC: Kaizer Motaung’s outfit is not only about football, it is a contribution to the country’s economy
By Jo-Mangaliso Mdhlela
Can we imagine what would happen if sport, any sport, was managed by people who lacked administrative skills, and intellectual capacity to inspire their organisation to grow?
This would be disastrous, and so Kaizer Chiefs’ founder, Kaizer Motaung, found a way to invest wisely to nurturing his brainchild, Kaizer Chiefs, to become a multimillion rand project.
Chiefs’ net worth is approximately $37 million (R658.6 million) based on a market value of around R545 million, according to some economists.
Which brings us to this point: the world and its institutions are today honouring our own Kaizer Motaung – as the University of Witwatersrand did this week – by conferring on him an honorary Doctor of Commerce.
The gesture by the university is to recognise his huge contribution to the growth of sport. This trajectory Motaung has been at it for a period exceeding 50 years – first, by establishing a club that would become a household name in the country, and second, to advancing football activities that would contribute to creating wealth that would impact positively to the enhancement of the country’s economy.
Think of it in this way: a household team such as Chiefs has over a period of its existence employed players, paid them, month after month, a wage, which wage the players would over a period of 55 years, use to buy goods and services and thereby contributing to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Over these many years, the player the fans loved to nickname Chincha Guluva, has, over a period of time, created a lucrative sport industry to entertain and create job opportunities and wealth for the many.
In many ways, at the club, national, and international levels, Motaung has played a huge role to shore up the smooth running of amateur and professional football associations and their leagues.
That the university elected to confer on him an honorary doctoral degree in commerce, attests to his long years of ensuring that football industry grows in the country.
The university, in its citation as it awarded him the honour, said: “Motaung has played an important role in South African soccer administration, having served in both National Soccer League (NSL) and South African Football Association (Safa) executives.
“In 1982, he was part of a South African National Football Association (Sanfa) delegation that travelled to the Fifa World Cup in Spain to convince the Confederation of African Football (Caf) executive and the Fifa Congress of that year to support the continued banning of apartheid South Africa from international sport.”
Motaung made a name for himself as an international star of note. He turned around the fortunes of Atlanta Chiefs in the United States, and in 1970 decided not return to the US, but to establish his own club in South Africa.
The new outfit would start off as Kaizer X1, later to morph into Kaizer Chiefs – which entailed the process of laying brick on top of another as an effort to build not only an institution but to create a club, and through that to contribute to the economy.
The honorary degree conferred on Motaung, honours and recognise him for his lifelong contribution “to sport, education, and the upliftment of disadvantaged youth across South Africa”.
Today, 55 years later, the club stands as one of the most successful clubs in the country – and with that, Motaung’s legacy continues to inspire many in the country.
In the words of the university’s vice-chancellor and principal, Prof Zeblon Vilakazi: “Dr Kaizer Motaung’s life story is a message on its own. He took a chance, he created something, and his actions spoke louder than any speech. He represents the spirit of innovation, determination, and community.”
Motaung, in receiving the honour, said: “I am proud and happy to be part of this community. I may no longer be the ‘Chincha Guluva’ that people remember on the field, but I know that Kaizer Chiefs still plays a big role in the spirit of this country,” he said.
This is Motaung’s second honorary doctoral degree, the first having been conferred by University of Cape Town in 2022. All South Africans must stand up, and doff a hat to show deference to Motaung for his inventiveness.
