With an ever-present debate over which club is the biggest in South Africa, we take a look at the case of Kaizer Chiefs and how a British band actually named themselves after the Soweto giants.
The story
Although Amakhosi have embarrassingly floundered for almost a decade now, the Motaung family-owned club remains one of the biggest sporting brands in the country.
While their number of supporters is not accurately known, a Bizcommunity report indicates that the club has a fanbase of more than 20 million, although this number is estimated to be even higher. Nevertheless, estimates say Chiefs are indeed the most widely supported club in the Southern African region.
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The club's influence has been far-reaching and one unique example of this is the fact that a popular indie-rock band from the United Kingdom renamed themselves after the club in the early 2000s. In 2003, a band originally called Runston Parva changed their name to 'Kaiser Chiefs' in honour of former Amakhosi star Lucas Radebe. The Bafana Bafana legend joined Leeds United from Chiefs in the 90s and quickly went on to establish himself as a legend in the English town, which prompted the band to rename themself in his honour.
The band has won multiple music awards, including the 2006 Best Group prize at the Brit Awards. The group boasts six studio albums and have reportedly sold over eight million copies. It is believed that the collective still boasts a cult following in the UK.
In 2008, the Kaiser Chiefs visited the club they were named after and took part in a friendly 6-a side match. According to the Glamour Boys' official website, the band named their members in their team, namely: Paul Bolton, Ricky Wilson, Nick Hodgson, Whitey, Simon Rix, and Peanut.
Meanwhile Amakhosi put Rainer Dinkelacker in goal and the outfield players were Lucas Radebe, Muhsin Ertugral, Fabian McCarthy, Fani Madida, and Shaun Bartlett.
The South African club won that game 4-2.
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