Kaizer Chiefs have officially retired the Nr. 20 in honour of former captain Howard ‘The Rock’ Freese, the club announced.
Kaizer Chiefs Chairman, Kaizer Motaung, made the announcement after an emotional handover ceremony at Naturena this week.
During the ceremony, Freese himself donated back to the Chairman and the club a priceless treasure trove of a number of iconic Amakhosi jerseys and memorabilia from his distinguished playing career.
“Howard is a living dedication of the commitment you show to something you truly love and he is a living testimony to the spirit of Love and Peace that Kaizer Chiefs espouses. As Chairman of the Club, I would like to announce that his number (20) should be properly retired. It will not feature again on the field of play, because of the significance of the contribution that has been made by Howard today,” the Chairman said after Freese’s handover of his playing jerseys.
The jerseys the former Amakhosi captain and centre-back returned to the Club included those Freese wore during successful campaigns in fabled tournaments such as the Mainstay Cup, Bob Save Super Bowl, BP Top 8, Ohlsson’s Challenge, Iwisa Charity Spectacular and the Castle Premiership.
“I’m bringing these jerseys back home,” he said.
“This is where they belong. When people ask what happened to the Chiefs generation of the 1980s and 1990s, this is a symbol and a reference of the Chiefs generation we represented, for everyone to see.”
Freese won 28 trophies with Chiefs, including 13 official trophies – among them three league titles in 1989, 1991 and 1992.
