When Kaizer Chiefs acquired Bongani Sam from Orlando Pirates in June 2024, Glamour Boys’ supporters hoped that the club had acquired a persistent left-back who had played in the PSL. Skip forward almost a year later, and the story has not been what one might expect. As of May 2025, Bongani Sam is still on the Kaizer Chiefs bench never having played in a competitive match. What went wrong?
Sam’s coming to Naturena was hyped to usher a lot of expectation. Having shown flashes of genius while at the Buccaneers, most were sure that he might just be the solution to Chiefs’ perennial left-back woes. Unfortunately, his time at the club started off on a sour note—literally.
During the Turkey pre-season training camp, Sam sustained an injury that ruled him out at a very crucial time when the team was being organized under new technical direction. Though he featured for a while in the October 2024 Legends Cup, he has not been part of any of Chiefs’ official DStv Premiership or cup games.
Club sources have confirmed that Sam has yet to recover to full fitness and sharpness. Head coach Nasreddine Nabi has not selected him in a single matchday squad, with Bradley Cross and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe well ahead of him in the pecking order.
The club did attempt to loan him some time out, though, to Magesi FC in January of 2025 on the hopes that regular game time would get him back on track. That didn’t pan out, unfortunately, due to logistical problems, adding to his frustration and scarcity of minutes.
It’s already over 16 months that Sam last featured in a competitive match. For a player who is still in his prime years at 27, this is as critical a time as any to be on the pitch rather than the bench. His situation raises questions about his future at Kaizer Chiefs as well as what the club will do with a player who, while with massive potential, has become an afterthought.
