Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner has called on the Amakhosi faithful to rally behind them as they look to overcome a first leg deficit.
Amakhosi suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Red Arrows of Zambia in the second preliminary round, first leg of the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium last weekend.
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Fernando Da Cruz’s men welcome the Zambian outfit to Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday with the hope of making it into the group stages.
The Glamour Boys have had their own struggles this season, winning just three encounters in 10 across all competitions while they have failed to turn draws into wins which has seen them drop to fifth place in the Betway Premiership standings.
Leaner, who has been entrusted with goalkeeping duties since Brandon Petersen suffered an injury, has pleaded with fans to return the intimidation they endured in Zambia by supporting them in numbers at the 2010 FIFA World Cup venue.
“This game is very important for the Club. Our goal is to advance to the group stage,” he told the club’s website.
“We are a big team, and we are in a big competition. We need our fans out in numbers to support us because in Zambia their fans made it a bit of an ‘intimidating’ environment.
“So, we need our brilliant fans to reciprocate for the whole 90 minutes because it won’t be easy and our fans are our 12th man who help us a lot to get over the line on the field.
“It’s obvious, but our first task is to get one goal and then go for another one, as well as focus on keeping a clean sheet.
“We have analysed where we went wrong in Zambia and had a look at how they played and where we might capitalise on some of their weaknesses, so we believe we can succeed on Friday.”