REVEALED: How Chiefs dropped the ball with Orlando Pirates sensation Mbokazi

A future GOAT?

Mar 23, 2025 - 18:00
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REVEALED: How Chiefs dropped the ball with Orlando Pirates sensation Mbokazi

Kaizer Chiefs reportedly had their eye on Orlando Pirates sensation Mbekezeli Mbokazi while he was a development player.

Kaizer Chiefs took note of Mbokazi in 2023

Football is a funny game.

Via Eliot Mahlase:

In 2023, Mbekezeli Mbokazi turned out for his hometown’s SAB outfit Makhasa FC, before he made a last-minute switch to Langalibalele Academy for the 2023 Engen Knockout Challenge.

After featuring in only 15 minutes during a friendly before the tournament, Mbokazi impressed the then-head of Technical and Youth Development for Kaizer Chiefs, Molefi Ntseki and head scout Ace Nkuse.

“What surprised me is that he only played 15 minutes and I phoned Kaizer Chiefs straight away,” Langalibalele Academy coach Wonder Mnguni told FARPost.

“That was my first time seeing him, I phoned Molefi Ntseki. I said there’s a left centre-back here, he’s out of this world. I told him, ‘I can guarantee you’ll want to sign this boy’. He said to me, ‘Okay coach we will see’.

“I phoned Ace Khuse, I told him the same thing so that more people at the club would push for him. I wanted him to join Chiefs. They said they will organise [things]. I saw that they were delaying.”

Mbokazi is the real deal for Orlando Pirates

5 March 2025 might go down as a big day in the history of the club. 19-year-old Mbekezeli Mbokazi made his Orlando Pirates debut and we might look back on that as a huge watershed moment. It was a 1-0 win for Pirates and, fittingly, Mbokazi marked his bow with a clean sheet. It’s the first of many, and DStv Diski Challenge [DDC] head coach Joseph Makhanya has played a big role in his rise to prominence. Mbokazi started subsequent matches against SuperSport in the Nedbank Cup (he scored the opener in a 2-2 draw, Pirates eventually prevailed on penalties) and against Stellenbosch in a 0-0 draw. Mbokazi was the Man of the Match in that thrilling cup tie against Matsatsantsa and repeated the trick by earning the accolade in Pirates’ 2-1 win over Sundowns. It’s a result to breathe new life into their title challenge.

Orlando Pirates Mbokazi
Mbekezeli Mbokazi of South Africa during the 2024 TotalEnergies U20 Afcon COSAFA Qualifier Final. Image: © Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

Can Mbokazi become an Orlando Pirates legend?

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