The Champions Series: Mohamed Bhamjee, Kaizer Chiefs u13 head coach

With the 2024 Gauteng Development League (GDL) done and dusted, SuperSport Schools Plus explores the journeys of the teams that triumphed this season under the “Champions Series” banner.

To start, Ongama Gcwabe narrates the story of the u13 champions, Kaizer Chiefs, with the help of head coach Mohamed Bhamjee.

The 2024 journey

Coach Bhamjee and his team headed into the season as the defending champions, and that’s a tag that can be a tough one to carry, purely because of the weight of expectations.

In Bhamjee’s case, all of his 2023 players had moved on to the u15 division. The coach had to build his team from scratch while watching his players inherit the pressure that comes with being the defending champions, although they had, in reality, not won the league themselves.

With the odds stacked against him and his new lineup, Bhamjee and his players conquered all obstacles as Kaizer Chiefs won back-to-back league trophies and the GDL Top Eight Cup.

“It’s been a long year and a long season. To win the league, it’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Bhamjee told SuperSport Schools Plus in an exclusive interview.

“With us this season, it was very challenging because last year when we won the league we won it unbeaten. We won it with a few players who were at Kaizer Chiefs before and were in their second year.

“This year, I took over a team that was brand new. Every player was new. So, I had to rebuild a team in January, bringing in players from all different backgrounds and cultures, and this year we were told to sign only 16 players, so our squad size was small.

“Despite all those challenges, these boys pulled it together, worked hard and we managed to clinch the Top Eight trophy earlier this year.

“I think that came as a surprise to a lot of people,” he added. “How did we put together a winning team in such a short period? From that, the confidence built, and we went on a good run.

“We were unfortunate to lose our first game at the end of the first round. But I think that last game was a blessing in disguise. It took a lot of pressure off the players and they just went on from there and after 34 games they managed to win the league.”

Keeping rivals at bay

Bhamjee told SuperSport Schools Plus that the key to Cheifs’ successful campaign was remaining unbeaten against the other title challengers, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United, who finished second and third place respectively this season.

“The first standout moment was beating Sundowns in the Top Eight competition when no one expected us to do it. I think that built a lot of confidence in a lot of players, into us as a technical team, in the parents, and everyone that we can do this,” said Bhamjee.

“The big thing we did this year was Sundowns and SuperSport were challenging us for the league titles, but we never lost to them. We dropped two points against SuperSport United. We drew and we won 3-1.

“With Sundowns, the game at Clapham we were losing 1-2 with 10 minutes to go and we won it 3-2.

“Two weeks ago, we played them at Naturena. We were 0-1 down and ended up winning the game 3-1. So, a lot of character was shown. The good thing about our players is that they rose to the big occasions and those were very key games.”

The Bhamjee philosophy 

Bhamjee outlined his philosophy for working with a young group of players. “At this age, you emphasise technical ability a lot and you bring in the tactical side next to that. Also, get them to understand what a big brand and club Kaizer Chiefs is and how fortunate they are,” said Bhamjee.

“When it comes to philosophy and all those things, for me it’s about getting them to play the Kaizer Chiefs’ way and getting them to realise how fortunate they are.”

Next week, SuperSport Schools Plus and Ongama Gcwabe will bring you the second entry of the Champions Series featuring the Mamelodi Sundowns under-15 team.