If the statements made by Mduduzi Shabalala’s coach are any indication, he won’t be a first team regular next season for the Kaizer Chiefs.
Shabalala is pursuing his matriculation, and as part of their support of him, the Chiefs DStv Diski Challenge coach Vela Khumalo said they won’t pressure him into playing for the senior squad.
Shabalala has a three-year first team deal with the Chiefs, but Khumalo claimed he would still play a significant role in the Diski Challenge.
The Diski Challenge team practises in the afternoon when Shabalala gets home from school, whereas the Chiefs first team often does its practises in the morning.
Shabalala will play some first team football while wearing the Chiefs’ jersey, but not as frequently as some supporters may want, according to Khumalo.
Khumalo told media as per Soccer Laduma:
“Mduduzi we will keep him for now. He will go in and out in the first team. He will play the 15 minutes and come back, because he is still at school. The program that he has is not the same as the one in the first team,”
“The first team, at times, trains in the morning and we train in the afternoon. He is studying Grade 12, so he will be in and out of the first team.
“It’s not only Mduduzi. About 90 percent of the players are in Grade 12. I am from school also. I am always working at school. So, balancing is not a problem. You always give them time what they need to do and then you give time to do the training sessions. That’s how we do it.”