Fernando Da Cruz Poised 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 the club’s technical shake-up clearing the runway for a new era at Naturena.
Chiefs Clear the Decks
Chiefs finished third in the 2025/26 Betway Premiership, a respectable return on paper, but not nearly enough for a club that measures itself in trophies. The response has been decisive.
Co-coaches Cedric Kaze and Khalil Ben Youssef are out. Goalkeeper coach Ilyes Mzoughi and conditioning coach Majdi Safi have also departed, part of a sweeping restructuring of the technical team. Chiefs have not tinkered around the edges; they have stripped the bench almost bare.
Into that vacuum steps Da Cruz.
Da Cruz Leads the Race
FARPost understands that Chiefs have held discussions with both Frenchman Fernando Da Cruz and Portuguese coach Alexandre Dos Santos as they search for a new figurehead. Dos Santos remains in the frame, but the momentum has shifted.
All indications now point towards Da Cruz as the club’s preferred option at this stage. He is not walking into an unknown.
The 51-year-old recently resigned from his role as Technical Coach at the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), freeing him for a return to club football. Before his stint in Morocco, he coached AS FAR Rabat and, crucially, spent time inside the Chiefs setup.
Two years ago, Da Cruz worked at Naturena as assistant to Nasreddine Nabi while the Tunisian was still concluding his spell with AS FAR. That short window left a mark. Within the club, his sessions were noted for their structure, intensity and professionalism. People remembered.
Those days also allowed both sides to size each other up. Chiefs got a close look at his methods and temperament. Da Cruz, in turn, gained insight into the club’s long-term vision, expectations and daily environment. If he returns now, he will not arrive as a stranger, but as a coach who already understands the corridors he is walking into.
Open Door at Naturena
Information received by FARPost suggests Da Cruz is open to taking charge at Chiefs, provided the two parties can finalise an agreement. The timing suits him. The timing suits Chiefs even more.
The recent overhaul of the technical department gives the club room to design a new coaching structure from scratch. Discussions are understood to include the possibility of incorporating local coaches and support staff around the new head coach, building a hybrid bench that blends international expertise with domestic insight.
Nothing is final yet on the composition of that team. But the framework is clear: a foreign head coach at the top, surrounded by a stronger local core than in previous cycles.
Pre-Season Clock Ticking
While negotiations continue, the football calendar does not pause.
Preparations for the new campaign are already accelerating. Chiefs are set to regroup on 22 June, a key date in the club’s planning. By then, the expectation is that the coaching structure will be in place, or close to it, so that the new man can stamp his authority from day one.
July brings a pre-season training camp in Germany, where Chiefs will test themselves against European opposition in a series of friendlies. That tour will serve as both a laboratory and a launchpad: new ideas, new staff, possibly a new formation, all stress-tested away from home.
For a coach like Da Cruz, known for detail and intensity, a European camp offers the perfect setting to drill his principles into a squad still being reshaped.
Rebuild on and off the Pitch
The reset is not confined to the dugout.
Attention has already turned to the playing squad, with Chiefs intent on sharpening a group that finished third but fell short of the title. Thabo Moloisane has agreed to join following his departure from Stellenbosch FC, the first confirmed piece in a broader puzzle.
More movement is expected. Further arrivals and exits are anticipated as Chiefs continue a rebuild that now stretches from the technical area to the dressing room.
The club has cleared space, identified its preferred candidate and set hard dates for pre-season. If Fernando Da Cruz does walk back through the doors at Naturena in the coming weeks, he will not be stepping into a gentle transition.
He will be stepping into a club that has already signalled, loudly, that third place is not the standard.
