Itumeleng Khune: Soccer Goalkeeper, Caps, Honours and Net Worth

Itumeleng Khune is the South African goalkeeper who kept goal for Kaizer Chiefs from 2004 to 2024 and captained Bafana Bafana from 2013. His recorded international total stood at 91 caps in June 2023. Born Itumeleng Isaac Khune on 20 June 1987 in Ventersdorp, he spent his whole senior soccer career at one club.

His career connects the Chiefs youth ranks, his work between the posts, his record with South Africa, and the published estimates of his net worth, each with its outlet and year beside the figure. His club status changes, so it lives in the status module at the top and updates itself, while the career facts below stay true however the next chapter unfolds.

Who Is Itumeleng Khune?

Itumeleng Khune is a South African goalkeeper born in Ventersdorp in the North West. He joined the Chiefs youth system in 1999, played for the senior side from 2004 to 2024, wore the club armband from October 2011 and led his country from 2013. For a generation of Amakhosi supporters, he was simply the man in the gloves.

His full name is Itumeleng Isaac Khune. His senior career includes two decades at Kaizer Chiefs and international appearances for Bafana Bafana.

For readers following African goalkeepers, those two strands deserve separate attention. Club appearances show the demands of returning to the same competition across many seasons. International appearances bring a different setting, with national selection and tournament opportunities shaping the record. Reading both together gives a fuller account of Khune's career than treating either his Chiefs appearances or his Bafana caps as the whole story.

The Road From Ventersdorp: One Club and No Transfer Fees

Khune's road ran through a single club, starting in the Kaizer Chiefs youth system in 1999 and moving into the senior squad in 2004. He was part of the group that won the Premier Soccer League in 2004-05, the first of his three league titles with Chiefs.

His Premier Soccer League debut came on 25 August 2007 against Jomo Cosmos, and the breakthrough was immediate. He was named PSL Goalkeeper of the Season in 2007-08, his first full season.

Chiefs made him captain in October 2011, and the titles followed in 2012-13 and 2014-15. By the end of the 2023-24 season he had made 286 league appearances for the club, with no goals, a figure recorded on 11 June 2024. It is worth reading that number slowly, because it represents about seventeen seasons of league soccer for one badge.

The dates also explain an important distinction in his honours. Joining a senior squad, making a league debut and becoming a regular starter are separate milestones. His 2004-05 league title belongs to his senior squad years before his league debut in 2007. That sequence helps readers understand why a player's first championship year can precede the appearances that established his reputation.

Because Khune never moved club as a senior player, there is no transfer fee anywhere in his story. His senior Chiefs career ran from 2004 to 2024. The status module above carries updates on his club and playing role.

Why Did Khune Stay at Chiefs for Twenty Years?

Khune's connection with Chiefs began at the age of about twelve and grew to include trophies and the armband. That history gives supporters several ways to understand his association with the club: as a youth graduate, a senior goalkeeper and a captain. Amakhosi supporters followed every chapter, and they still follow what he does next with the same attention they give the log on a Monday morning.

Where does he stand among the legends? His three league titles and captaincies for Chiefs and Bafana provide concrete milestones for that discussion. Comparisons become more useful when they distinguish club honours, international appearances and individual awards, because each recognises a different part of a goalkeeper's contribution.

What Did Khune Do Between the Posts?

Khune's role as a goalkeeper centred on stopping shots and keeping the ball out of his own net. His individual awards recognised his performances across several seasons.

His peak season was 2012-13. Chiefs won the league, and Khune won the PSL's main individual player award and Goalkeeper of the Season. Those honours recognised his contribution to a league title winning side.

He followed it by winning Goalkeeper of the Season again in 2013-14, and Chiefs added another league title in 2014-15. Goals conceded help explain a goalkeeper's contribution, although the total also reflects the work of the defence and the chances opponents create. Keeping that total down helps a side climb the log.

When assessing a Chiefs goalkeeper, watch the passage before the save as well as the save itself. Starting position affects the space available to an attacker; deciding whether to come for a cross affects the defenders around him. After possession is secured, the next decision is whether to release the ball quickly or allow teammates to move into passing positions. These are useful viewing questions when revisiting Khune's career.

The honours also invite two different comparisons. Goalkeeper of the Season recognises performance within a specialist position, while the main individual player award places a goalkeeper alongside players with other responsibilities. Khune receiving both in 2012-13 therefore gives that season particular significance. Neither award alone describes every aspect of his game, but together they explain why it stands out in his career record.

His three league titles came in 2004-05, 2012-13 and 2014-15. The honours table brings those titles together with his individual awards by year.

Khune and Bafana Bafana: Debut, Tournaments and the Caps Count

The recorded total for Khune stood at 91 South Africa caps and no goals in June 2023. His debut came on 11 March 2008 in a 2 to 1 win over Zimbabwe, and he was made captain in 2013. The records module carries the international totals.

His first major tournament was the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil, where he played all five matches and South Africa finished fourth.

Khune started at the 2010 World Cup on home soil and was sent off against Uruguay on 16 June 2010. The red card came during the group stage, and he remained first choice for years afterwards.

He was first choice when South Africa reached the quarter finals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also played at home, and he won the SA Sports Awards Sportsman of the Year in 2013. In 2016 he was selected as an overage player for the Olympic squad.

Keep the Olympic entry distinct when reading his international record. A tournament appearance and a senior cap total describe different categories, so they should not automatically be added together. The competition name and year matter as much as the headline number. For readers comparing Khune with goalkeepers from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or Uganda, consistent categories make the comparison more meaningful.

Itumeleng Khune net worth

Briefly News estimated Itumeleng Khune's net worth at around USD 4 million (about R70 million) in May 2026, and it said the figure is not audited. The figure should be read with its publication date.

On salary, Briefly News reported in 2026 that he earned about R480,000 a month at his peak at Kaizer Chiefs. This is a dated salary report; the status module carries updates on his club and playing role. Briefly also mentioned sponsorships and endorsements without naming the brands or publishing any amounts.

These net worth figures are published estimates, not verified accounts of his finances. The reported salary figures do not establish how much wealth he retained.

So, why is a net worth so hard to pin down? A wage is earned before agents' cuts and living costs, so twenty years of salary never equals twenty years of wealth. Treat any single number as a rough guide, and look for the outlet and the year beside it.

Currency conversions need the same care. The rand and dollar amounts belong to the dated estimate and should be read together, rather than treated as a permanent exchange rate. A transfer fee would answer another question entirely: it concerns a transaction between clubs. Its absence from Khune's senior career does not establish either his earnings or the value of his personal assets.

How to Watch Khune and Chiefs From Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda

The viewing module shows where Kaizer Chiefs matches are broadcast in each country and lists any confirmed appearance involving Khune. The broadcaster list is data that updates itself, so check it before kick off rather than relying on memory or last season's habits.

Premiership kick off times convert simply across the five countries. A Chiefs match at 19:30 SAST in Johannesburg starts at 17:30 GMT in Accra, 18:30 WAT in Lagos and 20:30 EAT in Nairobi and Kampala. If you are watching from East Africa, an evening kick off in Soweto lands at a comfortable hour after supper.

For the full record of his career, the honours table above and the status module together give you the career milestones and the live picture side by side. If you follow goalkeepers across the continent, you can compare Khune with other keepers in our guide to African soccer players, starting with the shot stoppers who, like him, built their careers on one badge.