The Kaizer Chiefs Reserve team squad touched down safely in Johannesburg on Monday after completing a memorable tour of England as a reward from sponsors, Multichoice, for their record-breaking 2024/25 DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) championship success.

Shortly after landing, www.kaizerchiefs.com caught up with coach, Dillon Sheppard, who shared his thoughts on what was a wonderful adventure they will all remember fondly for the rest of their lives:

“We have arrived safely back in the country after being away for 12 days. One could feel that after 12 days away that the boys were missing home and it’s good to be back. We had a wonderful trip, a great, unforgettable experience getting to play top teams and going to watch (English) Premier League games. We were very well looked after by our hosts. It was amazing to se the excitement on the boys’ faces watching some of their heroes play live.

We went from summer to winter conditions and some of our players had never experienced cold, rainy weather every day. The pitches and conditions were very different from what they are used to, but after our second session leading into the Manchester United (U21) game one could see that they had adapted and were ready for it. Seeing the Manchester United training complex at Carrington was an eye-opener and sharing ideas with their academy coaches was a real benefit for us. They are known for promoting academy players into the First Team and that is part of the Kaizer Chiefs heritage as well.

Manchester United U21 1
Kaizer Chiefs U23 3

“In our game against them, we knew we would have to step up our physicality and technical application but after taking a bit of time to settle, we were able to use or speed and skill to get in behind them and came out with a very pleasing 3-1 win.

In our downtime, we went to watch Manchester City v Leeds United at the Etihad stadium, where we were warmly welcomed and treated very well. The boys got to see the quality of the Premier League first-hand. We also got the chance to see Leeds host Chelsea at Elland Road and managed to spend some quality time with an absolute legend of both Leeds and Amakhosi, Lucas Radebe, with whom we walked around the pitch pre-match to tremendous applause. The boys also made their way to the cub shop where they loaded up on merchandise and memorabilia of their trip.

Leeds United U21 1
Kaizer Chiefs U23 1

Going into our second game, against Leeds we knew they have always produced top young players and we were in for a tough outing. We started well and were able to use our possession to create opportunities, and took the lead in the 25^th minute but as teg ae wore on, Leeds got stronger and played more direct, which we didn’t deal with well enough and it lead to them getting a questionable penalty, which they converted. From there, we dominated possession and turned the tide, pushing guys forward and creating chances, which we didn’t take, but overall, we felt 1-1 was a good result in the end, especially playing away. We shared a meal with them at the academy afterward, sharing stories and making friends.

The following day, we went to the Premier League headquarters where we were hosted by former England goalkeeper, David James, who I had met about 30 years ago at the School of Excellence and he reminded me that he still has a 1994 Kappa Kaizer Chiefs jersey, which was great to hear. The players got to ask him questions and he shared valuable insights of the highs and lows of a career spanning over 800 top flight games.

Queens Park Rangers U21 0
Kaizer Chiefs U23 0

That took us into our final game in London at Queens Park Rangers, where one of our own, Tylon Smith, is playing. We didn’t expect him to play but he was in the line-up and we renewed the rivalry we had with him last season when we battled Stellenbosch for the league. The format saw them make multiple substitutions on two occasions during the match so we found it quite unsettling and difficult to find any rhythm but in our overall performance in wet and windy conditions, I think we did really well, particularly in the first 30 minutes before all of their changes. Near the end they created a few chances but it finished 0-0. The teams got together afterwards and were able to hear from Tylon about his experiences since moving to England and his imminent trip to the AFCON as a young player with Bafana Bafana.

On the last couple of days the boys were able to do some shopping and sight-seeing around London to close out a memorable experience. We are all deeply grateful to Multichoice who made it all possible and were with us every step of the way. It has energised us to want to go out and do well in the DDC again and put ourselves in a position to experience this again. Thank also to Kaizer Chiefs. We really appreciate the support and everything we get from the Club and we thank you very much.”