Olympic silver medallist and boyhood Kaizer Chiefs fan Akani Simbine visits Naturena to motivate and inspire the team ahead of Soweto Derby

Kaizer Chiefs revealed the visit of the sprinter was part of a broader strategy of the club interacting with athletes from different sports to help motivate and drive the team.

The club's marketing director Jessica Motaung said, “Having him visit us is part of our drive to create strategic relationships with sports personalities and teams from different codes to share ideas and grow our relations with them.”

Simbine, who was part of South Africa's 4 x 100 metres relay team who won the Olympic silver medal in August last year, was able to interact with staff and players during his time at the club's training complex.

"I have been a Chiefs fan since I was a little kid and Amakhosi have been in my blood for as long as I can remember,” Simbine revealed.

The sprinter also spoke to the players, telling them: “Coming here and getting to the point where I am one of the fastest men in the world, is a story of consistency, drive, and growth.

"I have missed out on successes by miniscule things but we go back and look at how we can get better even by 0.1 or 0.2 percent.

“As a professional sportsman I am inspired by the Chiefs team and I hope that I can inspire them with my story to keep on pushing and keep on making your dreams become a reality," he continued.

"We need to [be] the best we can.”

The 31-year-old sprinter should be a great role model and motivation for the Chiefs squad.

His career had been defined by prolonged excellence in one of the world's toughest sports where he has has run faster than 10 seconds for the 100m in each of the past 10 years.

But near-misses in Olympic competition, two fourth-place finishes in the 100m, in Tokyo and Paris, plus a fifth place in Rio, almost cost him the medallist legacy he deserved.

After all those disappointments he persevered and won the first global major medal of his career at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, anchoring the men’s 4x100m quartet to silver.

Amakhosi face their Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates in the derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday, where Simbine will be in attendance along with over 80,000 fans of the two teams.

The sprint king will be hoping his motivation will help Chiefs overcome a three match losing streak to the Buccaneers in all competitions.

The last time The Glamour Boys tasted success in this fixture was almost two years ago when they held on to beat Pirates 1-0 in February 2023.