Orlando Pirates brought in more than 10 players to freshen up their squad to deliver across all competitions.
Under new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, the Sea Robbers hope to win the Premier Soccer League following their second-place finish in the last three years under Jose Riveiro, who has since left for Al Ahly. Apart from the other domestic competitions, the Buccaneers will be competing in the CAF Champions League as well.
One of the players who was signed is South Africa international Yanela Mbuthuma, who was one of the key players at Richards Bay. The versatile attacker will be competing for a starting berth with Evidence Makgopa, Boitumelo Radiopane, and Tshegofatso Mabasa.
While the Soweto giants have gained, the Natal Rich Boys coach, Ronnie Gabriel, is hurting since he lost a good player.
‘Good Mbuthuma went to Pirates but…'
In the 2024/25 South African top-flight campaign, the 23-year-old played 27 matches for his former team across all competitions, scored six goals and provided two assists, which was not bad, owing to the club's struggles.
“Mbuthuma was a loss to the team. He did very well for us last season. He got us a few goals and it’s good that he went to a team like Pirates,” he told the media.
“But we managed to replace him with [Gabadinho] Mhango. We went like for like with the quality striker who’s been in that, got goals in the Premier Soccer League. Maybe he could give us goals that Mbuthuma gave us last season,” Gabriel concluded.
Richards Bay started their new season on Sunday where they played Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 quarter-final, a match they lost 4-0.
