Kwinika says Chiefs ‘paid school fees cash’ after CAF exit

By Dylan Bettencourt

• Chiefs defender Zitha Kwinika says not scoring enough goals cost Kaizer Chiefs their place in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage.

• Kwinika says Chiefs must now focus only on the PSL after Zamalek knocked them out of the CAF Confederation Cup in Cairo.

Kaizer Chiefs defender Zitha Kwinika says the team have learnt hard lessons from their CAF Confederation Cup exit.

Zamalek beat Chiefs 2-1 in Cairo on 14 February, ending their campaign. At the same time, Al Masry beat Zesco United 2-0, pushing Chiefs down to third place on goal difference.

Kwinika did not hide from the truth after the exit.

“This is a conversation we are having in the team, asking each other, ‘Boys, how did we not qualify in the CAF Confederation Cup’?” he said. “It was a matter of goals, not scoring enough and conceding. That was the defining factor of our campaign.”

He said the team would take the lessons forward.

“We learned our lessons. We paid our school fees … cash. We will get better from that,” Kwinika said.

Chiefs had flown to Egypt top of Group D, needing only a draw to reach the knockout stage. But their goal tally let them down throughout the competition. In their final group match, they beat Al Masry 2-1 when they needed to win by two goals.

With continental football gone, Kwinika said the league is now everything.

“What is important for us right now is not to focus on the past, because we can’t change what has happened,” he said. “Our only focus is the league now.”

Chiefs host Stellenbosch at FNB Stadium on Tuesday, then face Orlando Pirates at the same ground on Saturday.

Pictured above: Kaizer Chiefs defender Zitha Kwinika.

Image source: Zitha Kwinika/X