The Free State Stars Chronicle
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A brace, and Siyabonga Mphela takes the afternoon — 8.57
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Siyabonga Mphela provided it, and the 8.57 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Keagan Phiri signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Keagan Phiri and Free State Stars agree another 4 years.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Free State Stars make their move for Ethan Chislett
$320.0K on the table at Kaizer Chiefs. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Free State Stars
Teboho Zwane and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Free State Stars
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
The crowd has taken to Siyabonga Mphela
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market10 Aug 2026
Bradley Williams steps up from the Free State Stars academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bradley Williams has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Erick Khune joins the Free State Stars first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Erick Khune is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Free State Stars promote Morgan Dala from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Morgan Dala has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Squad Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work
- Match Free State Stars refuse to lose to Jomo Cosmos
- The dugout No hiding place for Themba Mphela