AmaZulu appoints Arthur Zwane and Vusumzi Vilakazi to take charge as first team co-coaches

JOHANNESBURG - The Betway Premiership’s bottom-placed club, AmaZulu, has appointed former Kaizer Chiefs coach, Arthur Zwane, and Vusumzi Vilakazi to take charge of their first team as co-coaches. 

The domestic season has already seen a few coaching changes after a handful of matches and the latest one will see the pair replace Pablo Franco Martin after Usuthu’s poor start to the league where they lost all three of their opening matches.

AmaZulu president, Sandile Zungu, confirmed the appointments of Zwane and Vilakazi on Tuesday evening and affirmed his confidence in the duo’s ability to rescue the ambitious club’s faltering season.

"Their combined experience as both coaches and former professional players will be crucial in developing our younger talents and guiding our seasoned players in the task ahead," said Zungu.

Vilakazi, who has previously been at the helm of Premiership clubs Golden Arrows and Richards Bay, has been promoted from his post as coach of AmaZulu’s under-23 team while Zwane leaves the comfort of home to work for another club for the first time in his coaching career. 

Zwane, a Chiefs legend as a player, served as an assistant at Amakhosi before he was elevated to the head coaches’ job in 2022. He was in charge of the Soweto giants for a single season and led them to a 5th place finish, which was deemed not good enough by the club’s supporters and was later demoted to the academy structure at Naturena.

Zwane and Vilakazi’s first game at the helm is likely to be in the Carling Knockout where they'll take on defending champions Stellenbosch FC.