Amid speculation that Manqoba Mngqithi could be on his way out of Golden Arrows to become Kaizer Chiefs' head coach, a source close to the matter has revealed that his contract at Abafana Bes'thende is coming to an end at the close of the 2025-26 season.
However, at the time Chiefs announced the exits of co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze on Tuesday, no formal approach for Mngqithi's services had been made by the Glamour Boys, the well-placed source told ESPN.
Mngqithi previously enjoyed a fruitful stint at current African champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Having joined as an assistant coach midway through the 2013-14 season, he initially served in that role for six years.
Following the departure of head coach Pitso Mosimane in 2020, Mngqithi and Rhulani Mokwena effectively rotated head coaching duties for the next four and a half years.
Mngqithi's near 11-year association with Sundowns came to an end in December 2024, when they sacked him midway through his first season as the standalone head coach. He had ultimate authority over the team for the first two years after Mosimane left, but was technically in a co-coaching role with Mokwena.
The club had promoted Mokwena to head coach in October 2022, effectively demoting Mngqithi to assistant coach, before promoting him again when they parted ways with Mokwena in July 2024.
After a mixed start to the 2024-25 season, which saw Sundowns top of the South African Premiership under Mngqithi but struggling to gain momentum in the CAF Champions League, he was replaced by Miguel Cardoso after five months in charge.
While there may be nuance regarding the institutional politics of Sundowns while Mngqithi was in charge, the simple fact is: he won fairly consistently in every role he was deployed into.
In various capacities, Mngqithi was part of every one of Sundowns' eight successive Premiership triumphs before Orlando Pirates broke their streak this season. He was also an assistant coach in two previous title-winning Sundowns campaigns (2013-14 and 2015-16) before that run and the 2016 CAF Champions League success.
Among the names heavily linked with the Kaizer Chiefs job, the only one with comparable success to boast is Pitso Mosimane, his former boss. Mosimane is currently without a club, and Mngqithi could soon be unattached too.
Adding credence to this possibility, SoccerBeat reported that Arrows are eyeing former TS Galaxy head coach Adnan Beganović as a successor to Mngqithi, who took over as head coach in March 2025 to begin a third stint in charge of the Durban club.
Kenya head coach Benni McCarthy -- who like Mosimane supported Kaizer Chiefs in his youth but played for rivals Orlando Pirates -- has often been linked with the role, but has stressed that the onus is on the Glamour Boys to make the first move should they want him.
