Soweto derby: Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs all-time head-to-head record

On Saturday, 31 October, FNB Stadium will once again split Soweto down the middle. Orlando Pirates host Kaizer Chiefs in the first Betway Premiership derby of the 2026/27 season, with kick-off at 15:30, and the 63,680 tickets released to the public were gone within a day of going on sale on 13 October.

Few fixtures on the continent can match it for noise, colour or the sheer weight of expectation that lands on 22 players every time the black and white meets the gold and black.

The rivalry was born out of a split. Kaizer Motaung, a former Pirates star, came home from a spell with the Atlanta Chiefs in the North American Soccer League, found the Buccaneers torn by boardroom infighting, and formed his own club on 7 January 1970. Seventeen days later, on 24 January 1970, the two sides met for the first time in a ten-goal thriller. More than five decades on, the Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs history runs to 185 competitive meetings.

This feature breaks down the Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs head-to-head record in full: the all-time wins and draws, the goals each side has scored, the last 10 meetings and the records that have defined South Africa’s biggest football fixture. The short version is that Chiefs own the history while Pirates own the present, and Saturday will add another line to both stories.

Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs head-to-head record

Across all competitions, Kaizer Chiefs hold the historical upper hand. A tally published before the February 2026 meeting credited Amakhosi with 75 wins to Pirates’ 49, with 54 draws and five abandoned matches recorded separately.

Since then, Pirates have won once and the sides have drawn once, which moves the Soweto Derby head-to-head statistics to the figures below.

Category	All Competitions (Since 1970)
Matches played	185 (Including 5 abandoned)
Kaizer Chiefs wins	75
Orlando Pirates wins	50
Draws	55
Abandoned	5

That 25-win gap was built largely in the 1970s and 1980s, when Chiefs were the dominant force in South African football. The five abandoned games include fixtures linked to the 1991 Orkney stadium disaster and the 2001 Ellis Park disaster, the two darkest days in the rivalry’s story.

The league-only picture since the National Soccer League began in 1985 is tighter but still leans gold. Before February 2026, Chiefs had won 31 of 78 league derbies to Pirates’ 19, with 28 draws. Adding the two 2025/26 meetings takes that to 31 Chiefs wins, 20 Pirates wins and 29 draws from 80 games.

Recent form tells a very different story. Pirates strung together a club-record five derby wins in a row between November 2023 and May 2025, a run ended only by Chiefs’ 2-1 victory in the 2025 1Nedbank Cup final. The Buccaneers then won 3-0 in February 2026 and drew 1-1 in April, and they have won six of the last ten meetings, losing just three.

The current table backs that up. Pirates arrive second with 22 points from eight league games, seven wins and a draw, having scored 19 and conceded just once. Chiefs sit fifth on 14 points from three wins and five draws, with 13 goals scored and eight conceded. Neither side has lost in the league this season, and both warmed up with 3-0 Carling Knockout wins on Tuesday, Pirates over Milford FC and Chiefs over TS Galaxy, with Wandile Duba scoring all three.

Soweto derby: All-time goals scored by both teams

Goals have rarely been in short supply. Before February 2026, Chiefs had scored 233 times against their neighbours, while Pirates reached the 200 mark when Evidence Makgopa found the net in the 2025 Nedbank Cup final. The 3-0 and 1-1 results since then bring the all-time tally to:

Team	All-time derby goals
Kaizer Chiefs	234
Orlando Pirates	204
Combined	438

Behind those totals sit the Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs records every supporter knows by heart:

Top scorer: the late Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe of Chiefs, with 19 derby goals. Pirates’ best is Jomo Sono with nine.

Most goals in a match: ten, achieved twice. The first came in that opening meeting in 1970; the second was Chiefs’ 7-3 win in the second leg of the 1972 Champion of Champions final.

Biggest winning margin: four goals. Chiefs managed it with that 7-3 in 1972 and a 5-1 in 1975, while Pirates matched it with a 5-1 win in 1990.

Fastest goal: Mabhuti Khenyeza scored for Chiefs after 19 seconds in a 2-2 draw in Durban in 2007.

Hat-tricks: Zimbabwean Ebison Mugoyo scored the first, in Chiefs’ 5-1 win in 1975. Jerry Sikhosana scored the last, in a 4-1 Pirates victory in 1996.

Own goals: eleven in total, seven by Pirates players and four by Chiefs players. The most recent was Olisa Ndah’s, which handed Chiefs a 1-0 win in February 2023.

The modern balance of scoring has swung towards Orlando. Across the last 10 meetings, Pirates have scored 14 goals to Chiefs’ nine.

Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs: Last 10 meetings

These are the most recent Soweto Derby all-time results, across league and cup competitions, with the home side listed first.

Date	Competition	Result
26 Apr 2026	PSL	Orlando Pirates 1-1 Kaizer Chiefs
28 Feb 2026	PSL	Kaizer Chiefs 0-3 Orlando Pirates
10 May 2025	Nedbank Cup	Kaizer Chiefs 2-1 Orlando Pirates
3 May 2025	PSL	Kaizer Chiefs 1-2 Orlando Pirates
1 Feb 2025	PSL	Orlando Pirates 1-0 Kaizer Chiefs
9 Mar 2024	PSL	Orlando Pirates 3-2 Kaizer Chiefs
11 Nov 2023	PSL	Kaizer Chiefs 0-1 Orlando Pirates
6 May 2023	Nedbank Cup	Kaizer Chiefs 1-2 Orlando Pirates
25 Feb 2023	PSL	Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 Orlando Pirates
29 Oct 2022	PSL	Orlando Pirates 0-1 Kaizer Chiefs

February’s 3-0 was the most emphatic of the lot. Tshepang Moremi struck in the fifth minute, Oswin Appollis doubled the lead in the 39th, and substitute Evidence Makgopa completed the scoring in the 79th.

April’s return fixture was far tighter. Pule Mmodi put Chiefs ahead in the 62nd minute before Kamogelo Sebelebele equalised 13 minutes later. That 1-1 was the first drawn derby since a 2-2 Telkom Knockout semi-final in November 2019, ending a long sequence of decisive results.

Chiefs’ brightest moment in this run came in Durban in May 2025, when their 2-1 win over Pirates in the Nedbank Cup final ended a decade-long wait for silverware. A week earlier, Pirates had beaten them 2-1 in the league, a reminder of how quickly the mood in this fixture can flip.

Frequently asked questions about the Soweto derby

Who has won more Soweto derbies?
Kaizer Chiefs. They have 75 wins to Orlando Pirates’ 50, with 55 draws and five abandoned matches across all competitions.

When was the first Soweto derby played?
On 24 January 1970, as a third-place play-off in the Rogue Beer Cup. It produced ten goals.

Who is the all-time top scorer in the Soweto derby?
Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe of Kaizer Chiefs, with 19 goals. Jomo Sono leads the Pirates list with nine.

What is the biggest win in Soweto derby history?
The largest margin is four goals: Chiefs won 7-3 in 1972 and 5-1 in 1975, and Pirates won 5-1 in 1990.

What was the result of the last Soweto derby?
Orlando Pirates 1-1 Kaizer Chiefs in the Premiership on 26 April 2026.

When is the next Soweto derby?
Saturday, 31 October 2026, at FNB Stadium, kicking off at 15:30. The return league fixture, with Chiefs as hosts, is listed for 13 March 2027.

Who scored the fastest goal in a Soweto derby?
Mabhuti Khenyeza of Kaizer Chiefs, after 19 seconds in Durban in 2007.