Kaizer Chiefs send goalkeeper out on loan as Premier Soccer League debuts loom for Amakhosi DDC duo

Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed the departure of goalkeeper Bontle Molefe to Leicesterford City in the Motsepe Foundation Championship.

The 23-year-old, who was promoted to Chiefs' senior team from the academy in February 2019 at just 17 years old, has been sent out on loan until the end of the season. Molefe will join Chiefs left back Nkosana Mbuthu, who joined Leicesterford recently on loan for the rest of the campaign.

Although Molefe was tipped to become a top star for Chiefs, he has failed to break into the first team as he competes with Petersen, Bruce Bvuma, and Fiacre Ntwari.

This season, Petersen has been impressive so far, as he has kept 11 clean sheets and conceded 12 goals in 22 games across all competitions.

"Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Bontle Molefe will be joining Leicesterford City FC on loan until the end of the 2025/26 season," the club announced on Friday.

"Leicesterford City, based in Mpumalanga, compete in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, which is the national first division of South African football, under the PSL banner.

"This loan move forms part of the Club’s broader strategy to ensure that its promising emerging talent gains valuable game time and the experience required to thrive at the highest level of the sport," Amakhosi added.

"We are confident that this opportunity will help Kaizer Chiefs Youth Development Academy (KCYDA) product Bontle sharpen his skills further and continue his growth as a professional footballer. We also believe he will use his talent and the experience he has gained over the years to contribute towards helping Leicesterford compete for promotion to the Betway Premiership.

"We wish him every success on this exciting new chapter of his career."

Molefe's departure comes at a time when DDC's Takalani Mazhamba and Naphtali Mokoena are tipped for their Premier Soccer League debuts soon.

The two emerging goalkeepers have been training with the first team, and Mazhamba was also part of the squad that travelled to Zambia to take on ZESCO United in a CAF Confederation Cup duel, which Chiefs won.

Mokoena is Chiefs' first-choice keeper in the DDC this season, and Mazhamba was Amajita’s second-choice goalkeeper behind Fletcher Smythe-Lowe at the U20 World Cup in Chile last October.

As Mazhamba and Mokoena train under Petersen and their club's goalkeeping coaches, they are earning valuable experience and lessons. Indeed, Petersen has welcomed the two and affirmed he is ready to work with them.

“I am looking forward to working with them more and seeing them make their debuts very soon. Takalani and Naphy are both very good," Petersen said.

"They are different types of goalkeepers, but there are a few attributes they both have, like talent and humility.”

“The younger ones, Takalani and Naphy [Mokoena], are very good goalkeepers... They have shown at the [DStv Diski Challenge] DDC level in the games they have played, and many people have been speaking about them,” he added.

“For me, it’s important to have them as part of the first team because that’s the next step for them... It [training with the first team] lights up that fire in the belly to say that ‘this is where I want to be’, and once you are part of that setup, you don’t want to look back; you motivate yourself because that’s where you want to be.”