Who are Sabah FK, the new club for Kaizer Chiefs defender Aden McCarthy?

The 22-year-old's transfer was confirmed on Tuesday following an impressive season with Chiefs, during which he made 33 appearances across all competitions and helped the team secure third place in the league.

“We can confirm that we have agreed to release Aden after being approached by Sabah FK. We are proud that he will compete in the qualifying round of next season’s UEFA Champions League,” Chiefs Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jr said.

“We know Aden will fly the Amakhosi flag high in Europe, and we are excited to see him grow on the world stage.”

McCarthy is not the first South African player to represent them. Pule Ekstein spent the first half of the 2019/20 season there after also joining from Chiefs, before he moved to another Azerbaijani side, Sabail.

Ekstein made 16 appearances in all competitions and scored three goals – a respectable record – so it was surprising at the time that he was quickly moved on.

Sabah FK are a relatively new club, having been founded in 2017. They started in the second tier but immediately won promotion to the top flight.

Since then, they have not finished lower than seventh, and they secured their first league title in the 2025/26 campaign, finishing a full nine points ahead of Qarabağ.

They will make their Champions League debut in the upcoming campaign, having previously participated in the Europa League and Conference League, though without reaching the league phase of either competition.

Such was their domestic dominance last season that they completed a league and cup double, winning the Azerbaijan Cup for the second consecutive year.

Their squad is a diverse mix of nationalities, with players from Croatia, France, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, Algeria, Gabon, Rwanda and even Guadeloupe.

The team is coached by 49-year-old Lithuanian Valdas Dambrauskas, who had no professional playing career but has had a varied managerial career that has taken him to countries including England, Latvia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Hungary.

That includes winning the league title with Ludogorets Razgrad in Bulgaria and twice with Žalgiris in Lithuania, as well as cup competitions in the latter, Latvia and Croatia.

Their stadium is modest; they play at the 8,969-capacity Bank Respublika Arena in Masazır.

McCarthy is the son of former Chiefs star Fabian, and he made his Bafana Bafana debut in the 2025 COSAFA Cup.