Kaizer Chiefs ended their search for silverware after 10 seasons when they won the Nedbank Cup at the end of the last campaign, but the Carling Knockout remains elusive, even if the club have won the various versions of the League Cup more than any other team.
Chiefs are, by some distance, the record holders for wins in South Africa’s League Cup with 13 since the competition was first introduced in 1982 as the Datsun Challenge. It has also been known as the JPS Knockout Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Rothmans Cup and Telkom Knockout. The next highest is Mamelodi Sundowns on four, meaning the AmaKhosi have more than three times the number of wins as anyone else.
But more recently, they have found it a tough competition to crack, with their last victory coming all the way back in 2010.
🚨#𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 🚨
— Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) September 30, 2025
Tickets for the Round of 16 matches in the Carling Knockout are on sale at Open Tickets online and nationwide for R60.
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They have been to just one final since then, in 2015, when they lost 3-1 to Sundowns in a Pitso Mosimane masterclass, and in the three editions before the competition took a break after 2019, they bowed out at the semifinal stage.
Two seasons ago, on its return as the Carling Knockout, they went out in the first round to a 1-0 home loss to AmaZulu, the first time they had not advanced to the quarterfinals at least since 2012.
In the last campaign, Chiefs thumped SuperSport United 4-0 away in their opening game but then got a home pasting by Sundowns in the quarter-final.
There have been 11 editions since their last trophy win, and they have made the semis in five of those, to go with three quarterfinal losses and three first-round exits, which, aside from Usuthu, came back-to-back in 2011 and 2012 against Platinum Stars and BidVest Wits, respectively.
Chiefs’ real dominant spell in the competition was between 1997 and 2010, a run of 14 editions of which they won an impressive eight (57 per cent). They also lost the 2002 final at that time to Jomo Cosmos.
The three semifinal losses in a row in their three appearances between 2017 and 2019 came against Wits, most painfully Orlando Pirates and surprisingly Maritzburg United.
Their biggest win in the competition during the PSL era was a 4-0 quarterfinal success against Dynamos in 2004, where goals from Arthur Zwane, Shoes Moshoeu and a David Radebe brace gave them the win, plus last year’s win over SuperSport.
Former coach Zwane, who is now leading AmaZulu, is the joint top scorer in the competition for the club since 1996/97 with five goals. He holds that record alongside Knowledge Musona.
On Friday 3 October, the 2025 edition of the #CarlingKnockout begins 🔜
— Official PSL (@OfficialPSL) October 2, 2025
Here's a look back at how Magesi won the tournament.
Tickets are available at Open Tickets nationwide and online for R60.
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Zwane also got a goal in Chiefs’ darkest day, a 4-1 away loss to Lamontville Golden Arrows in the first round in 2008 when the late Richard Henyekane grabbed a hat-trick in a brilliant win for Abafana Bes’thende.
The team Chiefs have faced in the competition the most in the PSL era is their Soweto rivals Pirates, with seven clashes, of which both teams have won twice, to go with three draws. The AmaKhosi have, however, won all three penalty shoot-outs against The Buccaneers.
They have met a trio of clubs six times – Wits (W3 D1 L2), Platinum Stars (W2 D1 L3) and Sundowns (W1 D4 L1). The first two now no longer part of the PSL.
In all, Chiefs have played 80 games in the League Cup since 1996/97, winning 42, drawing 20 and losing 18. They have scored 118 goals and conceded 78.
KAIZER CHIEFS RECORD IN PSL ERA
Tournament finishes
2024/25: Quarterfinals
2023/24: First Round
2019/20: Semifinals
2018/19: Semifinals
2017/18: Semifinals
2016/17: Quarterfinals
2015/16: Final
2014/15: Quarterfinals
2013/14: Semifinals
2012/13: First Round
2011/12: First Round
2010/11: Winners
2009/10: Winners
2008/09: First Round
2007/08: Winners
2006/07: Quarterfinals
2005/06: Quarterfinals
2004/05: Winners
2003/04: Winners
2002/03: Final
2001/02: Winners
2000/01: First Round
1999/00: First Round
1998/99: Winners
1997/98: Winners
1996/97: Quarterfinals
