Ex African Coach of the Year Emerges As Kaizer Chiefs’ Top Choice to Replace Nabi

Kaizer Chiefs and Nasreddine Nabi are close to ending their ties as the Tunisian mentor is reportedly leaving after just 13 months with the Premier Soccer League giants.

The news about the possible departure of Nabi came as a surprise to many Amakhosi supporters as they started the season well in the league, as they've only lost one game since the star of the 2025-26 campaign.

Last season was not good enough under Nabi, but the former Yanga SC mentor ended the season with a silverware as the Soweto giants won the Nedbank Cup as they defeated Orlando Pirates in the final.

The Betway Premiership side released an official statement to confirm there are talks ongoing with Nabi, but they are yet to clarify if the manager is leaving or will just be away from the the team for some time like he did at the beginning of the season when he travelled to Tunisia to attend to family emergency.

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Sports journalist Uche Anuma in an exclusive interview with Briefly News shared his thoughts on Nabi's decision to leave Kaizer Chiefs this summer.

He talked about the disadvantage and advantage of the Tunisian tactician's departure at the point of the season.

"Reports about Nasreddine Nabi's decision to leave Kaizer Chiefs came as a big surprise to me, because the team started well, and there's no reason to sack the coach or put more pressure on him as it is still early in the season," he said.

"The unbeaten run and losing against Sekhukhune United still showed that they've improved massively from last season, and they now have a full squad with good depth.

"The disadvantage of Nabi leaving is that, the team might have to start from scratch when the new coach coomes in, and would want his own starting lineup while also rejecting some of the players brought in this summer, while the advantage of this is that Nabi's decision came in early and not in the middle of the campaign when it would hard to get a good time to recover."

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Anuma also named former Mamelodi Sundown coach Pitso Mosimane as the right man for Kaizer Chiefs job, if Nabi's exit is fully confirmed.

The one-time CAF African coach of the year winner was linked with Chiefs' job in 2024, before the Glamour Boys opt for Nabi, but he's now back on Amakhosi's radar now that the Tunisian mentor is said to be leaving.

"There's no other coach better fit for Kaizer Chiefs job than Pitso Mosimane," he added.

"It might be difficult due to the financial aspect as Pitso would command a hug pay to get him to join Chiefs, but I am very sure that the financial sacrifice would eventually pay off at the end of the day.

"Mosimane is currently a free agent, he's very conversant with the Premier Soccer League as he was successful during his time with Sundowns, and Chiefs are playing continental football this season, another reason to go for the experienced Pitso."

Source: Briefly News