Premier Soccer League side Cape Town City have confirmed the arrival of former Orlando Pirates midfielder Fortune Makaringe.
The 31-year-old was among the six players who were released by the Sea Robbers in the last couple of days. He had played 147 games for Bucs, a club that signed him from Maritzburg United at the beginning of the 2020/21 season.
During his spell at Bucs, the midfielder won three MTN8 crowns and two Nedbank Cup titles. However, he was deemed surplus to requirements by coach Jose Riveiro who is now aiming at revamping his squad.
Citizens confirm the arrival of Makaringe – ‘He is a blue'
City have been busy in the transfer market, and recently, they acquired the services of former Mamelodi Sundowns player Haashim Domingo and Kayden Francis.
In his bid to have a stronger team, coach Eric Tinkler opted to add the former Pirates man in his ranks.
Neither Makaringe nor City have revealed the extent of the contract and the initial details are scanty. In his last season with the Soweto giants, Makaringe made just 14 appearances across all competitions owing to injuries.
Makaringe, Thabang Monare, and Kermit Erasmus exits did not excite some stakeholders like former defender Edward Motale, “You know it is hard to comment or say what happened with the players that the team released, we don't know why they did this,” he stated.
“You can't release the players that you will need when playing in so many different tournaments. To do well in all these competitions we needed to have a well-balanced squad with experienced players. I don't know why they released players who we still needed at least for the season looking at the competitions we will be involved in.
“Truly speaking it came as a surprise. Maybe it was time for them to move on to new challenges in their football life. As a team, we still needed their services, mainly players like Kermit Erasmus and Thabang Monare. Their experience would have been vital playing in Africa,” he concluded.
The Citizens had a relatively good season whereby they finished fifth on the Premier Soccer League table and reached the Carling Knockout final but lost to Stellenbosch.
