Fernando Da Cruz Set to Become Kaizer Chiefs' Next Head Coach

Fernando Da Cruz has moved to the front of the queue to become Kaizer Chiefs’ next head coach ahead of the 2026/27 season, with talks advancing and the club’s technical reshuffle clearing the way for a new era at Naturena.

Chiefs clear the decks

A third-place finish in the 2025/26 Betway Premiership has not spared the current technical team. Chiefs have already confirmed the exits of co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef, while goalkeeper coach Ilyes Mzoughi and conditioning coach Majdi Safi have also departed in a sweeping overhaul.

It is not cosmetic. It is structural.

The club is stripping back its bench, creating room for a head coach to shape a staff in his own image and for management to reset a football philosophy that has stuttered between short-term fixes and long-term ambition.

Da Cruz steps into focus

In that context, two names have been on the table: Frenchman Fernando Da Cruz and Portuguese coach Alexandre Dos Santos. Both have held discussions with Chiefs as part of the search for a new mentor.

The picture, though, is becoming clearer.

Indications from within the process point increasingly towards Da Cruz as the preferred option. He is not arriving as an unknown. He is returning to familiar ground.

The French tactician recently resigned from his role as Technical Coach at the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), freeing him up at precisely the moment Chiefs are rebuilding their technical department. The timing is no coincidence; it has thrust him into pole position.

A second act at Naturena?

Da Cruz has already walked the corridors of Naturena. Two years ago, before heading to Morocco, he worked inside the Chiefs environment as assistant to Nasreddine Nabi, who at the time was still wrapping up his stint with AS FAR Rabat.

In that short spell, Da Cruz left a mark.

Those who worked with him talk of structure, intensity, and a sharp professionalism that lifted daily standards. Training sessions were detailed and demanding. The framework around the team tightened. Chiefs’ hierarchy took note.

That period also allowed both sides to study each other closely. Da Cruz gained an intimate understanding of the club’s long-term vision and operational culture; Chiefs, in turn, saw how his methods and personality fit within their setup. It was an audition disguised as an interim role.

Now, with the head coach position open, that shared history has become a powerful advantage.

Open door, open mind

Information received by FARPost indicates that Da Cruz is open to taking charge at Naturena if an agreement is finalised. There is no public announcement yet, no contract held up for the cameras, but the willingness is there on both sides.

The recent clear-out on the technical bench gives Chiefs the flexibility they have lacked in recent seasons. Instead of slotting a new man into an inherited structure, they can build a fresh coaching team around the incoming head coach.

The club is believed to be exploring a blend of foreign expertise and local knowledge, with South African coaches and support staff expected to feature in the revamped setup. Those discussions are ongoing and form a crucial part of how the new era will look and feel on the training ground.

Clock ticking toward Germany

There is not much time to waste.

Preparations for the new campaign are already gathering pace. Chiefs are scheduled to regroup on 22 June, and by then the club expects to have its coaching structure in place. The new boss will need every available day to imprint his ideas before the team boards a plane.

July brings a pre-season camp in Germany, where Chiefs will test themselves against European opposition in a series of friendly matches. For any incoming coach, that tour becomes a live laboratory: tactics tested, combinations tried, standards set.

Arrive late, and you play catch-up. Arrive on time, and you define the tempo.

Rebuild gathers momentum

Attention at Naturena is not fixed only on the dugout. The squad itself is being reshaped.

Thabo Moloisane has already agreed to join the club after leaving Stellenbosch FC, the first confirmed piece in what is expected to be a broader rebuild. More arrivals and departures are anticipated as Chiefs look to close the gap on the top and turn a solid league finish into a genuine title challenge.

The direction is clear: a new coach, a refreshed backroom, a squad under construction.

All that remains is the final decision in the most important seat of all. If the current trajectory holds, Fernando Da Cruz will walk back through the gates at Naturena not as an assistant this time, but as the man trusted to lead Kaizer Chiefs into a defining 2026/27 season.