15 Apr 2027
Thursday
Process
37 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ronwen Khune keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Free State Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Teboho Zungu 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Thereso Chuene 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.

In brief

Back issues
36 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Teboho Zungu puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Gomolemo Kekana says Free State Stars went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Gomolemo Kekana is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

In brief

35 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Keagan Mokotjo sold, and an era ends

$1.6M from Nashville SC for Keagan Mokotjo. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $1.6M sale of Keagan Mokotjo

He is going to Nashville SC, the club has $1.6M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Squad

Teboho Zungu 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.

In brief

34 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Eyes on Keagan Mokotjo again

The phone has started ringing about Keagan Mokotjo again, and this time the name on the line is Nashville SC. Free State Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Teboho Zungu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

In brief

33 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Keagan 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Squad

Roscoe Pietersen 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

32 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Teboho Zungu puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Mbongeni Gumede signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mbongeni Gumede and Free State Stars agree another 2 years.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

31 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Sibusiso Tau at 20 — 8.49

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sibusiso Tau did not need any: 8.49, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Squad

Teboho Zungu 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.

The terraces

Free State Stars supporters have found a favourite in Sibusiso Tau

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Sibusiso Tau has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mbongeni Gumede

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Free State Stars

8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

Match

Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Loan watch

Siyabonga Grobler keeps scoring at Platinum Stars

24 appearances away from home and 6 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

In brief

30 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Ethan Chislett

20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Free State Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Matlou

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Free State Stars come up short against Black Aces

Black Aces left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

George Matlou in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Free State Stars leaking at the back

4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Themba Jali is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Williams Zwane

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Market

Roscoe Pietersen placed on the list

Free State Stars have made Roscoe Pietersen available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

29 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Ethan Chislett

27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Free State Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Keagan 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.

Squad

Williams Zwane signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Williams Zwane and Free State Stars agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Matlou

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Teboho Zungu 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Free State Stars against Maritzburg United

1‑2 to Maritzburg United, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane in the eights

A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Gomolemo Kekana could have had three

4 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.

In brief

28 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Ethan Chislett

34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Free State Stars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Teboho Zungu 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.

Match

Free State Stars get the job done against University of Pretoria

A 3‑2 win over University of Pretoria, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Boardroom

Free State Stars agree a free transfer for Lizalise Mahumza

Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.

Player ratings

George Matlou in the eights

A performance of 9.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Teboho Zungu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Moloko Nape 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Edward Maova

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Edward Maova, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Williams Zwane at his very best

Marked 8.59. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Free State Stars.

In brief

27 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Free State Stars say no — this time

The offer from SuperSport United for Khama Erasmus was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Match

The wait goes on for Free State Stars

6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market

Thereso Chuene is a Free State Stars player

The fee is $140.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Polokwane City drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

The terraces

Free State Stars spend $140.0K on the signing the town wanted

It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $140.0K for Thereso Chuene, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.

Match

A bad afternoon for Free State Stars against Polokwane City

1‑2 to Polokwane City, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Khama Erasmus in the eights

A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Roscoe Pietersen 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.

Squad

Gomolemo Kekana 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.

In brief

26 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Free State Stars sell their best player to Ajax Cape Town

$250.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $250.0K sale of Thulani Tau

He is going to Ajax Cape Town, the club has $250.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Match

The wait goes on for Free State Stars

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market

Eyes on Khama Erasmus again

The phone has started ringing about Khama Erasmus again, and this time the name on the line is SuperSport United. Free State Stars are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Teboho Zungu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Mbongeni Gumede 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.

Match

Free State Stars come up short against Mamelodi Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Lwandiso Radebe in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Wages eat 86% of everything Free State Stars earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

In brief

25 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

The unthinkable, invoiced: Ramahlwe Mokoena sold

Hajduk Split arrived with $3.0M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.

Market

Keagan Mokotjo hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Free State Stars can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $3.0M sale of Ramahlwe Mokoena

He is going to Hajduk Split, the club has $3.0M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Squad

Lwandiso Radebe keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Free State Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Mamelodi Sundowns watching Bradley Kekana

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Free State Stars have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Match

The wait goes on for Free State Stars

4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Squad

Gonzalo Antoine gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Gonzalo Antoine has just signed for Free State Stars, and for once the answer mattered.

In brief

24 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Free State Stars make Edward Maova the dearest name in their history

$310.0K. Fees like that buy a footballer and rent a debate: every touch will be measured against the number for a season at least.

Market

Teboho Zungu puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Free State Stars turn down Huesca for Khama Mokotjo

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near George Matlou

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Free State Stars sign Moloko Nape for $170.0K

The paperwork is done: Moloko Nape joins from Polokwane City in a deal worth $170.0K. Now comes the harder part.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The terraces

$310.0K for Edward Maova, and Free State Stars supporters approve

Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Edward Maova from Golden Arrows for $310.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.

Boardroom

Thobani Gumede will join Free State Stars for nothing

The paperwork is done long before the player is. Thobani Gumede has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Free State Stars have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

In brief

23 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Bradley Kekana puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Free State Stars say no — this time

The offer from Mamelodi Sundowns for Bradley Kekana was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Themba Jali in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

George Matlou in the eights

A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

A late step up for Khama Mahlangu

At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Squad

Thulani Tau is the division's best young player this month

At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Free State Stars will try very hard not to make too much of it.

Match

Honours even between Free State Stars and Golden Arrows

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

22 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lwandiso Radebe is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

21 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Keagan Mokotjo puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Thulani Tau at 20 — 9.00

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Thulani Tau did not need any: 9.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Themba Jali keeps Free State Stars in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Teboho Zungu

Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Themba Jali

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Roscoe Pietersen

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Match

Thulani Tau the difference as Free State Stars beat Platinum Stars

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thulani Tau. 1‑0 against Platinum Stars, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

20 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Teboho Zungu hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Free State Stars can pretend not to have heard.

Match

The wait goes on for Free State Stars

4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Match

Chippa United take the points off Free State Stars

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Keagan Mokotjo 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Bradley Kekana at his very best

Marked 8.38. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Free State Stars.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Keagan Mokotjo

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Free State Stars keep their word to Riyaaz Koopstadt

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

In brief

19 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Free State Stars taken apart

0‑3 to Kaizer Chiefs, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Market

Bradley Kekana puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Basil Mphahlele

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Thulani Tau is the division's best young player this month

At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Free State Stars will try very hard not to make too much of it.

In brief

18 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 16 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Khama Erasmus

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Mbongeni Gumede 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.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Teboho Zungu

Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Boardroom

Wages eat 114% of everything Free State Stars earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Riyaaz Koopstadt

Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Point won or two lost for Free State Stars?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Orlando Pirates? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

17 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 23 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Thulani Tau at 20 — 8.82

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Thulani Tau did not need any: 8.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ramahlwe Mokoena

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Thulani Tau

At 20 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Roscoe Pietersen

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roscoe Pietersen, and the manager let it.

Match

Honours even between Free State Stars and Jomo Cosmos

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Player ratings

The chances came and went for Khama Mokotjo

12 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.

In brief

16 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 30 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Themba Jali keeps Free State Stars in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Teboho Zungu puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Free State Stars strike at the death to beat Bloemfontein Celtic

There were 85 minutes on the clock and Bloemfontein Celtic had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Free State Stars did not stop to explain themselves.

Squad

Ronwen Khune keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Free State Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Themba Jali 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of George Matlou at his very best

Marked 9.35. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Free State Stars.

The terraces

Free State Stars supporters have found a favourite in Themba Jali

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Themba Jali has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Riyaaz Koopstadt

20 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.

In brief

15 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 38 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Free State Stars against Black Aces

1‑2 to Black Aces, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

No hiding place for Themba Jali

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Themba Jali, and the manager let it.

In brief

14 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 46 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Williams Zwane

Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Bradley Kekana 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.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Player ratings

Teboho Zungu shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Bradley Kekana 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 114% of everything Free State Stars earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Squad

Lwandiso Radebe in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Riyaaz Koopstadt

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

13 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 53 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Themba Jali keeps Free State Stars in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

12 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 60 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Themba Jali is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Free State Stars

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

A masterclass from George Matlou

Marked 9.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Match

Free State Stars see off Polokwane City

Three points for Free State Stars, 2‑0 the final word against Polokwane City in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Riyaaz Koopstadt shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

No hiding place for Roscoe Pietersen

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roscoe Pietersen, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Williams Zwane

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

11 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Bryn Deeley out for 67 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Free State Stars will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Real improvement from Lwandiso Radebe at Free State Stars

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lwandiso Radebe is 17, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

In brief

10 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 75 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 148% of everything Free State Stars earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

Player ratings

George Matlou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

No hiding place for Basil Mphahlele

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Basil Mphahlele, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Teboho Zungu in the eights

A performance of 8.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Teboho Zungu rescues a point for Free State Stars

It needed Teboho Zungu to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against SuperSport United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena could have had three

6 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.

In brief

9 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 82 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Williams Zwane

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Themba Jali in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Match

Free State Stars share the spoils with Bidvest Wits

A 1‑1 draw with Bidvest Wits leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Andile Kekana

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

8 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 91 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Cruel end for Golden Arrows as Free State Stars pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Free State Stars scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Teboho Zungu

Marked 9.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

The terraces

Free State Stars supporters have found a favourite in Teboho Zungu

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Teboho Zungu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Teboho Zungu the difference as Free State Stars beat Golden Arrows

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Teboho Zungu. 1‑0 against Golden Arrows, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

8 new faces, and Free State Stars are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

In brief

7 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 100 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

Free State Stars bow out of the cup

Ajax Cape Town go through and Free State Stars go home, 2‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 29 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

A first appearance Bradley Manyama will want to forget — 5.57

Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.57, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Roscoe Pietersen

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Bradley Kekana

Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

Khama Mokotjo in the eights

A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

6 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 107 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 107 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Themba Jali keeps Free State Stars in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Market

Sifiso Grobler 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.

Match

5 matches without a win for Free State Stars

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Free State Stars are no longer polite ones.

Market

Free State Stars sign Kamohelo Masita for $160.0K

The paperwork is done: Kamohelo Masita joins from Polokwane City in a deal worth $160.0K. Now comes the harder part.

The terraces

$160.0K for Kamohelo Masita, and Free State Stars supporters approve

Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Kamohelo Masita from Polokwane City for $160.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Williams Zwane

Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Keagan Mokotjo 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.

In brief

5 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 114 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Erick Zwane puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Free State Stars, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

4 matches without a win for Free State Stars

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Free State Stars are no longer polite ones.

Match

Free State Stars come up short against Chippa United

Chippa United left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyaaz Koopstadt is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Mandla Khune 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.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane in the eights

A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Teboho Zungu

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

4 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Bryn Deeley breaks a bone — 121 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 121 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Williams Zwane runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Thulani Tau 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.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Themba Jali

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Free State Stars come up short against Kaizer Chiefs

Kaizer Chiefs left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.57. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Market

No place for Percy Khune in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Percy Khune has his answer from Free State Stars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

3 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Teboho Zungu shuts the door

Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Squad

Words at Free State Stars training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ramahlwe Mokoena is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Williams Zwane

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Khama Erasmus 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.

Squad

Free State Stars pick somebody else ahead of Mandla Khune

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Market

Erick Zwane told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Erick Zwane has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Free State Stars.

Match

Free State Stars and Orlando Pirates cancel each other out

Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Orlando Pirates came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Sifiso Grobler

Marked 5.59, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

In brief

2 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 8 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Player ratings

A first appearance Sifiso Grobler will want to forget — 5.52

Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.52, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.

Squad

Teboho Zungu signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Teboho Zungu commits to Free State Stars for another 4 years.

Player ratings

Ramahlwe Mokoena runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Free State Stars

Riyaaz Koopstadt 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.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at Free State Stars

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Squad

Themba Jali 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.

Market

Free State Stars promote Gift Zungu from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gift Zungu 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.

Market

One of our own: Gift Khune joins the Free State Stars first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gift Khune is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

1 Edition

The Free State Stars Chronicle

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Free State Stars turn down Valerenga for Khama Mokotjo

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Riyaaz Koopstadt in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Free State Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ramahlwe Mokoena 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.

Squad

Andile Dolly stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Andile Dolly and Free State Stars agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Thulani Tau is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Free State Stars has been clear about where Thulani Tau stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

Teboho Zungu asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief