Mduduzi Shabalala celebrates Chiefs milestone with frank assessment

Shabalala was honoured by Amakhosi at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban ahead of Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup win over Zambian side ZESCO United. 

The 22-year-old, who was promoted from the reserve side in 2022, says he’s grown as a player, but aims to further improve and mature as he aims to inspire the next generation. 

"I think it's a journey of inconsistency, I think I've learnt so much within these games and I'm hoping to learn more, and to be better as a person," said Shabalala.

"I've also grown so much as a young boy, I think I've learnt to be a man at such a young age, and I'm hoping to inspire more boys at my age."

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With 11 goals and just six assists in a century of appearances, Shabalala, who recently made his international debut with Bafana Bafana, knows he can deliver much more. 

"I think I can still give more to the team and for myself, and I think we obviously haven't been doing so well in these last few years, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse," he added.

"But I'm happy to be here and I'm happy for what I've achieved here in this team. I think I can still give more and win a lot of trophies for this beautiful team.

"I think it's a great feeling for me, as young as I am, and I'm happy to be here. I just want to say thank you to the Chairman for the opportunity, and for trusting and believing in me as such a young age. I'm hoping to play as much as I can in this beautiful team."