Flavio Da Silva of Kaizer Chiefs challenged by Ahmed Mansour of Al Masry SC during the CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 2025/26 match between Kaizer Chiefs and Al Masry SC at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on the 08 February 2026 ©Sydney Mahlangu BackpagePix
Monday Feb 09, 2026. 15:00
The coaches of both Kaizer Chiefs and Al Masry leveled complaints about their respective schedules following their CAF Confederation Cup clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Sunday.
Chiefs emerged as victors, claiming a 2-1 win to take top spot in group D with 10 points. Egyptian giants Zamalak are chasing in second place on eight points after a shock loss to Zesco United -who are out of contention – on Sunday, while Al Masry sit one point behind Zamalek.
In the post match press conference in Polokwane, both coaches complained of their demanding schedule which has caused logistical issues, a lack of training, and injuries, and appealed to their relevant football associations for something to be done.
“We played on Wednesday a game in the league, then we travelled for almost 17 hours after the delays of the aeroplanes and three and a half hours of bus which was a very big pressure on the team and they still played like what you saw in that game,” said Al Masry head coach Nabil Kouki.
The 55-year-old appealed directly to the Egyptian Football Association for a rest period for his players and for more consideration for teams playing in continental competition.
“And my final message is for the Egyptian Federation. I think they are punishing the Egyptian teams for this whole load of games. We played Wednesday then we travelled, then we came back, we played, we can see injuries in all the Egyptian teams.
“Maybe because this year all the teams are under the same pressure of the Egyptian teams because we have the Egyptian Cup, we have another two tournaments, a league and another cup but maybe this year is special because of the World Cup in June, that’s why we have to finish everything in May. But we can see that the players are getting injured and we just need one week because the next week is the most important week in the Confederation Cup so we need to favour us at least the next week to give us a rest,” said Kouki.
The former Tunisian international’s sentiment was shared by Kaizer Chiefs head coach Khalil Ben Youssef.
“We are in a situation that we are coming back today, tomorrow we fly back. We prepare, we don’t have any training sessions. Our players now three weeks, two weeks, they didn’t make any training session. We play a game, tomorrow rest or recovery, then minus one you can do nothing, then game. So, even when you prepare the fixture, you have to think about the player, you have to think about the team,” said Ben Youssef.
The 42-year-old criticised South Africa’s PSL for its scheduling, bringing up the fact that last season, teams competing in continental competition were granted postponements of their league matches, while that has not been the case for AmaKhosi this season.
“We are in a situation, as a Kaiser Chiefs team, we are playing this competition and we played all our PSL league [games to date]. I remember last season, a lot of teams, they play Champions League or CAF games. They change the fixture, they change the game, they continue the last five games in May. We are playing the CAF and we played almost all the games.
“We give us two months without competition, then we come back, we play every three days game. How can we deal with that? Playing all the game outside, travelling, load and everything, we are in big risk of injury to our players,” he said.
To substantiate his argument, the Tunisian tactician mentioned that Orlando Pirates, until recently, had played two-less league fixtures than their rivals and other clubs in the Betway Premiership, despite not playing in continental competition.
“What I’m asking to do, we did it last season, we did the same thing. I mean, some teams in May, they played their last five or six games. This season, we played 15 games. Another team, I don’t want to say their name, they have 13 games. And they don’t play nothing. If we represent Kaiser Chiefs, tell us that you represent Kaiser Chiefs. But if you represent South Africa, tell us that you represent South Africa.”
AmaKhosi will travel to Egypt to face Zamalek on Sunday, while Al Masry will play an Egyptian Premier League fixture on Wednesday before facing Zesco United on Sunday in their final Confederation Cup group game.
By Nic Gleeson