It's been a South African identity

For over two decades, Itumeleng Khune was the heartbeat of South African football, a Kaizer Chiefs icon, Bafana Bafana captain and one of the most decorated goalkeepers the country has ever produced. His journey from Ventersdorp to the grandest stages serves as an inspiration across generations, exemplifying an unyielding pursuit of excellence. Now, with the gloves hung up, Khune is channelling his passion into shaping the next generation of stars with his Distribution 101 Goalkeeping Academy. In this interview with Soccer Laduma’s Delmain Faver, Khune reflects on the thinking behind the new venture, Chiefs' current state and why footballers need to have an eye not just on the ball, but also on life beyond the pitch.

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Delmain Faver: Itu, when did the idea of starting an academy come about?

Itumeleng Khune: To be quite honest, it's been an idea that I've always had, but I wasn't ready to pursue it because I was dealing with my personal stuff from my shock exit. I feel like there's a need because I've been watching a lot of football. We don't have (enough) goalkeepers in the country. Unfortunately, there are many foreign goalkeepers in our league.

I don't want to sound racist or xenophobic, but leagues like Egypt don't allow foreign goalkeepers. Look what happened in this past Africa Cup of Nations tournament, they took their four best goalkeepers. Here in South Africa, we have this crisis that didn't start with me.

DF: Why do you say that?

IK: It's been a generational thing where people would see Brian Baloyi as number one for Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana and ask, "When he retires, are we ready to replace him, and with who?" Chiefs were still cooking me in their development. When Brian left for Mamelodi Sundowns, I was told to step up and was promoted. Two years later, Rowen Fernandez left Chiefs. And when he left, Chiefs didn't have to stress about a goalkeeper, I was there because they had been preparing me in development. The five years I've spent in development, they were preparing me for the first team. Then I got promoted. But I had to wait four years before I started playing regularly, although I continued training.

DF: Right...