The Free State Stars Chronicle
Market24 Aug 2026
Thulani Mokotjo asks to leave Free State Stars
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Hlompho Zungu runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market24 Aug 2026
Gor Mahia come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Free State Stars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Both jobs done by Thulani Mokotjo — 6.44
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 15 actions, 6.44, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Free State Stars
Siyabonga Mphela was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market24 Aug 2026
Itumeleng Dala attracts admirers
The name of Itumeleng Dala has come up in conversations Free State Stars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Siyabonga Billiat falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match22 Aug 2026
3 matches without a goal for Free State Stars
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Kamohelo Mokotjo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
In brief
- Match A bad afternoon for Free State Stars against Kaizer Chiefs
- Market Aduana Stars expected to open talks for Themba Mphela
- Squad Keagan Dala dropped after a run of poor form