Kaizer Chiefs confirmed the appointment of Fernando Da Cruz as their new head coach on Wednesday evening.
Chiefs – ‘Da Cruz comes highly qualified’
“Kaizer Chiefs are pleased to confirm the appointment of Fernando da Cruz as Head Coach. He has signed a two-year contract with a one-year option, effective 1 July 2026,” read a Chiefs statement.
“Born in France, Da Cruz comes highly qualified with a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching certification in football.
“He worked briefly with Chiefs during pre-season two years ago before joining the Moroccan Football Federation, where he served as Technical Director until the end of June. He will officially take charge of Amakhosi at the beginning of July.”
The 53 year-old Da Cruz is tasked with taking Chiefs forward from the reign of Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze, who guided the team to third place in the Betway Premiership and a place in next season’s Caf Confederation Cup.
Da Cruz has previously been head coach at Belgian side Mouscron and French side Lille.
His first foray into Africa was as head coach of Moroccan side AS FAR for the 2022/23 season. He was sacked by AS FAR in May 2023 after they were knocked out of the Arab Champions Cup.
Da Cruz has previous with Amakhosi
De Cruz did previously work with Chiefs ahead of the 2024/25 season, after they had appointed Tunisian Nasreddine Nabi as head coach.
With Nabi busy finishing off his time as AS FAR head coach, Da Cruz started the pre-season at Naturena.
But now he has returned after Chiefs opted not to extend the contracts of Kaze and Ben Youssef.
Nabi left Chiefs last September, having won them a first trophy in a decade, when Amakhosi lifted the 2025 Nedbank Cup.
Ben Youssef and Kaze were handed the reins until the end of the season. And they did a respectable job, as Chiefs finished in their highest league position for some time.
Amakhosi, however, failed to add to their trophy cabinet, exiting in the group stages of the Caf Confederation Cup, while their Nedbank Cup defence ended in defeat to Stellenbosch in the last 32.
Chiefs have already started their recruitment for the 2026/27 season, with former Stellenbosch defender Thabo Moloisane joining as a free agent.
