Orlando Pirates F.C.

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Orlando Pirates

Full name	Orlando Pirates Football Club
Nickname(s)	Amabhakabhaka, The Sea Robbers, Bucs, Happy People, Buccaneers, Ezimnyama Ngenkani
Short name	Pirates
Founded	1937; 84 years ago (1937), as Orlando Boys Club
Ground	Orlando Stadium
Capacity	45,000[1]
Chairman	Irvin Khoza
Manager	Mandla Ncikazi, Fadlu Davids (Caretaker Co-Coaches)
League	DStv Premiership
2020–21	3rd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as Pirates) is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as Premier Soccer League, The team plays its home matches at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

The club was founded in 1937 and was originally based in Orlando, Soweto.^[2] They are named 'Pirates' after the 1940 film The Sea Hawk starring Errol Flynn.^[3] Orlando Pirates are the first club since the inception of the Premier Soccer League in 1996 to have won three major trophies in a single season back to back, having won the domestic league ABSA Premiership, the FA Cup Nedbank Cup and the Top 8 Cup MTN 8 during the ABSA Premiership 2010–11 season and domestic league ABSA Premiership, the League Cup Telkom Knockout and the Top 8 Cup MTN 8 during the ABSA Premiership 2011–12 season.^[4] They are one of only two South African teams with Mamelodi Sundowns to win the CAF Champions League, which they won in 1995. They are the runners-up of 2015 CAF Confederation Cup.^[5]

Orlando Pirates drew an average home attendance of 14,533 in the 2016-17 domestic league season. It became the second-highest in the league.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

Orlando Pirates is one of South Africa's oldest football clubs having been established in 1937 in Orlando East, Soweto.^[2][6] The club's performances over the years have served as an inspiration for young footballers to strive to play the Beautiful Game at the highest level in the black and white colours of the 'Buccaneers'.

Early years[]

The founders of Orlando Pirates included the offspring of migrant workers who moved from rural areas to work in the gold mines of Gauteng. Boys in Orlando came together at every available opportunity in open spaces and in informal groupings to play football. That original club was called the Orlando Boys Club.

In 1940, Bethuel Mokgosinyane, the first president, bought the first team kit with his own funds. Orlando Boys participated in Johannesburg Bantu Association's Saturday League, where they won the Division Two title and gained promotion to Division One in 1944.^[2] Andrew Bassie, a key member of the team, suggested the new name 'Orlando Pirates'. The team composed the camp's war cry 'Ezimnyama Ngenkani'.

Since 1971[]

Over the years, Orlando Pirates – also known as 'The Happy People' – have accumulated a record of successes having won the National Professional Soccer League title in 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1976, the National Soccer League title in 1994, and the Premier Soccer League title four times, in 2001, 2003, 2011 and 2012. Their first-place finish in the 2010–11 domestic league campaign generated much excitement among the club's vast fan base.

In 2011, Orlando Pirates enjoyed tremendous success by winning the 2010–11 Premier Soccer League, The Nedbank Cup, The MTN 8 Cup and The Telkom Knockout. This year was dubbed as "The Happy Year."

Many other cup triumphs in domestic football have also been recorded, including Vodacom Challenge title victories in the inaugural 1999 tournament and 2005. But the African continent and other areas of the football world took notice of Orlando Pirates Football Club when they won the African Champions Cup (now known as the Champions League) in 1995 and the African Super Cup a year later. Along with Mamelodi Sundowns, the Orlando Pirates are the only Southern Hemisphere club to have won the African Champions League. This achievement resulted in the club being honoured by the first State President of the new democratic South Africa, Nelson Mandela – another first for a South African sporting team.

Club chairman, Irvin Khoza, who also served on the 2010 World Cup Bid Committee, must be credited with the club's rise to fame over the past few years as the Orlando Pirates supporters – who are nicknamed "The Ghost" – have had much to cheer about.

Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung and his Jomo Cosmos counterpart Jomo Sono were popular players of the highest calibre for the Buccaneers before starting their own clubs. Their playing history is deeply entrenched in the black and white colours of Orlando Pirates.

In 2005, the team, along with Interza Lesego and Ellis Park Stadium Ltd, announced its acquisition of a 51% share in Ellis Park Stadium, making it the first majority black-owned stadium in South Africa.^[7] It was in the same year that Orlando Pirates achieved Superbrand status. Superbrands is an international company that identifies and rewards the leading brands around the world; Orlando Pirates are the only South African sports team next to the Springboks and Proteas to be given this status.^{[citation needed]}

The Soweto derby[]

The Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates is one of the most fiercely contested derbies in world football. The first match between both clubs was on 24 January 1970.^[8]

Honours[]

Domestic competitions[]

South African League titles (9):

• Premier Soccer League
  • Winners (4): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2010–11, 2011–12
  • Runners up (6): 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2017–18, 2018–19
• National Soccer League
  • Winners (1): 1994
• National Professional Soccer League
  • Winners (4): 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976

Cup competitions[]

• Nedbank Cup
  • Winaners (8): 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2014

**Runners up : 2017                            

• Telkom Knockout
  • Winners (1): 2011
  • Runners up : 2010
• MTN 8
  • Winners (10): 1972, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2010, 2011, 2020
  • Runners up : 2014

International competitions[]

• CAF Champions League
  • Winners (1): 1995
  • Runners-up (1): 2013
• CAF Super Cup
  • Winners (1) : 1996
• CAF Confederation Cup
  • Runners-up(1): 2015

Cup competitions (unofficial)[]

• Castle Challenge
  • Winners (1): 1992
• Sales House Cup
  • Winners (4): 1972, 1975, 1977, 1983

Reserve and Friendly[]

• Carling Black Label Cup
  • Winners (5): 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019
• PSL Reserve League
  • Winners (1): 2007
• Vodacom Challenge
  • Winners (2): 1999, 2005

Performance in CAF Competitions[]

NB: South African football clubs started participating in CAF Competition's in 1993, after 16 years of being banned from FIFA due to the apartheid system. The ban extended from 1976 to 1992.

• African Cup of Champions Clubs / CAF Champions League: 10 appearances

The club appeared in the African Cup of Champions Clubs twice (1995, 1996) and have appeared in the CAF Champions League eight times from 1997 to date.

Year	Best finish
1995	Champions
1996	Quarter-Final
1997	Group Stage
2002	Second Round
2004	Second Round
2006	Semi-Final
2010	Preliminary Round
2012	Preliminary Round
2013	Finalist
2018–19	Group Stage
2019-20	Preliminary Round

• CAF Confederation Cup: 3 appearances
• African Cup Winners' Cup: 1 appearance

Year	Best Finish
	CAF Confederation Cup	African Cup winners' Cup
1999	-	Semi-Final
2004	Play-offs	-
2015	Finalist	-
2020–21	Quarter -Finalist	-

• CAF Super Cup: 1 appearance

Year	Best finish
1996	Champions

Note

• Orlando Pirates did not make an appearance in the CAF Cup, they qualified for the 2001 CAF Cup but withdrew from the competition. As the cup was intended for league runners-up their place in the tournament was then extended to Kaizer Chiefs who had finished third, but they declined as they had already qualified for the more prestigious 2001 African Cup Winners' Cup. Pirates' place in the tournament was then extended to and taken by Ajax Cape Town.^{[citation needed]}

Overall matches[]

Competition	P	W	D	L	GF	GA
CAF Champions League	80	36	24	20	122	69
CAF Confederation Cup	18	12	2	4	33	22
African Cup Winners' Cup	8	6	1	1	24	11
CAF Super Cup	1	1	0	0	1	0
Total	107	55	27	25	180	102

As of 20 March 2019

Club Ranking[]

Club ranking for 2021–22 CAF Champions League and 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup will be based on results from each CAF tournament (Champions League and Confederation Cup) from 2017 to 2020–21.

Updated after CAF Champions League/Confederation Cup matches on 17 July 2021.

Orlando Pirates F.C. Currently Ranked 22nd, as they enter the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup after finishing 3rd in the 2020-21 DStv Premiership

Rank	Club	2017 (× 1)	2018 (× 2)	2018–19 (× 3)	2019–20 (× 4)	2020–21 (× 5)	Total
1	Al-Ahly	5	5	3	6	6	78
2	Espérance de Tunis	3	6	6	3	4	65
3	Wydad Casablanca	6	3	5	4	4	63
4	Raja Casablanca	0	5	1	4	5	54
5	Zamalek	2	0	5	5	2	47
6	Mamelodi Sundowns	3	2	4	3	3	46
7	TP Mazembe	5	3	4	3	2	45
8	RS Berkane	0	2	4	5	1	41
9	Horoya	1	3	3	3	2	38
10	Étoile du Sahel	4	3	3	3	1	36
11	Pyramids	0	0	0	4	3	31
12	JS Kabylie	0	0	0	2	4	28
13	AS Vita Club	1	4	1	1	2	26
14	Kaizer Chiefs	0	0	0	0	5	25
15	Simba	0	0	3	0	3	24
16	Enyimba	0	3	0	2	2	24
17	CS Sfaxien	2	0	3	0	2	21
18	Al-Hilal	1	0.5	2	2	1	21
19	MC Alger	2	1	0	0	3	19
20	Hassania Agadir	0	0	2	3	0	18
21	Coton Sport	1	0	0	0	3	16
22	Orlando Pirates	0	0	2	0	2	16

Notable former coaches[]

Club records[]

• Most appearances: Happy Jele 401^[9]
• Most goals: Benedict Vilakazi 52
• Most capped player: Teko Modise 58 (South Africa)
• Most appearances in a season: Senzo Meyiwa 51 (2013–2014), Oupa Manyisa 51 (2013–14) and Willy Okpara 51 (1994–1995)
• Most goals in a season: Dennis Lota 23 (1999–00)
• Record win: 9–1 v Olympics FC (Bob Save Super Bowl, 7 March 1999)
• Record loss: 0–6 vs Mamelodi Sundowns (League, 11 February 2017) Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
• Most games unbeaten: 17 (1975, 2005)
• Most goals scored in a season: 61 (1989)
• Most goals conceded in a season: 60 (1986)
• Most wins in a season: 19 (1990)
• Fewest wins in a season: 5 (1985)
• Most defeats in a season: 15 (1985)
• Fewest defeats in a season: 3 (1994)

Premier Soccer League record[]

Season	Pos.	Record
		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1996–97	3rd	34	18	10	6	43	27	16	57
1997–98	3rd	34	15	12	7	52	33	19	57
1998–99	3rd	34	17	9	8	55	28	27	60
1999–2000	2nd	34	18	10	6	72	36	36	64
2000–01	CHAMPIONS	34	16	13	5	60	34	26
2001–02	3rd	34	15	12	7	43	31	12	57
2002–03	CHAMPIONS	30	18	7	5	41	16	25	61
2003–04	5th	30	13	11	6	45	30	15	50
2004–05	2nd	30	17	9	4	52	29	23	60
2005–06	2nd	30	14	12	4	39	24	15	54
2006–07	5th	30	12	10	8	36	30	6	46
2007–08	8th	30	12	6	12	38	30	8	42
2008–09	2nd	30	15	10	5	37	20	17	55
2009–10	5th	30	10	14	6	26	18	8	44
2010–11	CHAMPIONS	30	17	9	4	41	23	18	60
2011–12	CHAMPIONS	30	17	7	6	39	26	13	58
2012–13	3rd	30	14	10	6	39	23	16	52
2013–14	4th	30	13	7	10	30	22	8	46
2014–15	4th	30	13	11	6	46	29	17	50
2015–16	7th	30	11	8	11	38	30	8	41
2016–17	11th	30	6	15	9	29	40	-11	33
2017–18	2nd	30	15	10	5	41	26	15	55
2018–19	2nd	30	15	12	3	44	24	20	57
2019–20	N/A	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	4 titles	714	331	234	149	986	626	360	1227

|green=In progress |Gold=CHAMPIONS |Silver=Runners-up

As of 21 May 2019

Club officials/Technical team[]

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• Chairman/managing director: Irvin Khoza
• Coach: Vacant
• Assistant coach: Fadlu Davids
• Assistant coach: Mandla Ncikazi
• Goalkeeping coach: Jyri Nieminen
• Strength & conditioning coach: Franck Plaine
• Conditioning coach: Stephen Plummer
• Data scientist: Gavin Smith
• Performance analyst: Kyle Solomon
• Performance analyst: Darian Wilken
• Physiotherapist: Kutlwano Molefe
• Physiotherapist: John Williams
• Kit manager: Donovan Lekgothoane
• Kit manager: Funky Mokoalase
• Kit manager: Itumeleng Khoza
• Kit manager: Pule Sithebe

Players[]

First team squad[]

As of 20 August 2021^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  RSA Thabiso Monyane 3 MF  RSA Thembinkosi Lorch 4 DF  RSA Happy Jele (captain) 5 DF  RSA Ntsikelelo Nyauza 6 MF  RSA Ben Motshwari 7 FW  MWI Gabadinho Mhango 8 MF  RSA Siphesihle Ndlovu 9 FW  RSA Tshegofatso Mabasa 11 MF  NAM Deon Hotto 12 MF  RSA Collins Makgaka 14 DF  RSA Thulani Hlatshwayo 15 MF  RSA Fortune Makaringe 16 MF  RSA Thabang Monare 17 DF  RSA Wayde Jooste 18 MF  RSA Kabelo Dlamini 19 DF  RSA Bongani Sam 20 MF  RSA Goodman Mosele 21 MF  RSA 23 DF  RSA Innocent Maela 24 MF  RSA Tebogo Tlolane 25 FW  RSA Zakhele Lepasa 26 MF  RSA Bandile Shandu 29 DF  RSA Paseka Mako 30 GK  RSA Wayne Sandilands

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 GK  GHA Richard Ofori 32 MF  RSA 34 MF  RSA 36 DF  RSA 37 FW  ZIM Terrence Dzvukamanja 38 DF  RSA Kwanda Mngonyama 39 DF  RSA Sandile Mthethwa 40 GK  RSA Siyabonga Mpontshane 42 FW  RSA 44 MF  RSA Abel Mabaso 45 FW  RSA Vincent Pule TBC FW  RSA

Sponsorships[]

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• Principal Sponsor: Vodacom
• Official Technical Supplier: Adidas
• Official Bus Partner: Greyhound Lines
• Official Vehicle Sponsor: Ford SA
• Official IT Partner: Acer
• Internet Supplier: SuperSport
• Sleeve Sponsor: Carling Black Label
• Official Video Game Partner: EA Sports
• Sports Nutrition Supplier: USN
• Official Electronics Partner: LG Electronics
• Fuel Supplier: Caltex
• Official Drinks Supplier:

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orlando Pirates FC.

• Official website
• Official Twitter page
• Official Facebook Page
• PSL Club Info