In a significant blow to their massive support base, Kaizer Chiefs faithful are set to be completely shut out from visually following their team’s crucial CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round clash this Saturday. The Amakhosi are scheduled to face AS Simba in the second leg of their qualifier in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, but the match will be played in a veritable media blackout, with no official television or streaming broadcast available for fans.
The club confirmed the disappointing news in an official statement, explaining that the blackout is a direct result of AS Simba’s refusal to provide a broadcast feed from the Stade TP Mazembe. This logistical impasse effectively severed the pipeline through which South African broadcasters, such as the SABC or SuperSport, or even the club’s own digital team, would typically bring the game to screens across the nation and beyond. Without a host feed provided by the home team, there is simply no signal to distribute.
This fixture carries significant weight for the Glamour Boys. After a hard-fought 2-1 aggregate victory over Angola’s Kabuscorp in the first preliminary round, this match against AS Simba represents a critical hurdle on the path to the group stages of the continent’s secondary club competition. For a club desperate to return to continental glory and reclaim its stature, every moment of this campaign is pivotal.
The announcement has, predictably, sparked a wave of intense frustration and disappointment on social media. Fans have taken to platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to voice their anger, aiming it at both the Congolese club and what some perceive as a failure of continental football governance.
“How is it that in 2025, a professional football match in a major continental competition is not being broadcast?” read one typical fan post. Another lamented, “We support the team through thick and thin, and now we’re left in the dark for one of the most important games of the season.”
The vacuum of official information has led to a surge in speculation and improvised suggestions from the fanbase. Some supporters have urged others to search for elusive, and likely illegal, streams from Congolese sources, despite the low probability of success and high risk of poor quality. Others have half-jokingly proposed gathering around radios with shortwave capabilities, hoping to find a local Lubumbashi radio broadcast, a throwback to a bygone era of sports consumption.
Compounding the frustration are pre-existing regional concerns over officiating standards. The inability to see the match live means fans cannot independently assess the performance of the match officials, a point of contention in many past African club fixtures. This lack of transparency only fuels anxiety and suspicion, leaving supporters to rely solely on the cryptic language of live text updates and social media posts from those fortunate enough to be in the stadium.
The situation highlights a stark disparity in the commercial and logistical capabilities within African club football. While top leagues and European competitions are ubiquitously available, this blackout underscores the challenges that remain, where a club’s ability to engage its global fanbase can be unilaterally thwarted. For the millions of Kaizer Chiefs supporters, Saturday will be an exercise in anxious waiting, refreshing their apps for goal alerts, and hoping their team can triumph in a match they can hear about, but cannot see.
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