By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Caption: Abdeslam Ouaddou coach of Orlando Pirates (left) with Cedric Kaze co coach of Kaizer Chiefs, during the Betway Premiership 2025/26 Soweto Derby Press Conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Nasrec on Thursday. Photo Credit: BackpagePix.
Despite Mamelodi Sundowns’ recent dominance in the Premier Soccer League (PSL), Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates remain South Africa’s most popular clubs due to their storied histories and the size of Soweto.
The clubs will face off in the Betway Premiership on February 28, the first of two clashes of the season. The other is on 25 April.
This will be the 109th league meeting between the two giants since their first clash back in 1971, a match Chiefs edged 4-3 and one that set the tone for decades of drama. Chiefs hold the historical league advantage with 45 wins to Pirates’ 27, while another 36 duels have ended level.Across all competitions, this is officially their 184th meeting, stretching back to the Rogue Cup in 1970.
The modern PSL era has given us tighter contests: Chiefs lead with 18 wins to Pirates’ 16, and 24 draws across 58 league games. Yet recent history has tilted sharply. Pirates have claimed four straight league victories over Amakhosi—their best run in the PSL era—although Chiefs broke a broader losing streak with their Nedbank Cup final triumph last May.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference at the Nasrec Expo Centre on Thursday, the Chiefs co-coach Cedric Kaze acknowledged the pressure to perform in the Soweto derby, noting that a win doesn’t just earn points, it can also buy the coaching team a month of favour from the fans.
Kaze revealed that the players are giving their all, eager to make their mark and step up during this high-stakes clash.
“Even the players feel that the atmosphere is going to be different. We’d love to see the players having the same level of commitment in all the games, but I have to admit that [the derby] is different,” he added.
Pirates meanwhile received a major boost with the return of two influential figures to the training ground in the name of Evidence Makgopa and Thalente Mbatha.
Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou expressed his delight, noting that Makgopa is “doing very well” as he prepares for the weekend.
“One more player to add to our group is Thalente Mbatha, who has also joined the group because there were a lot of questions surrounding him. However, he was injured as well. I’m happy to have him back in the group.”
“At the beginning of the week, I could see that everyone was ready to play. It will be difficult to make the final list,” Ouaddou noted. “The players are really looking forward to the event. At the start of the week, there’s been high intensity.”
Both sides come into the derby match looking to bounce back from their recent setbacks.
Pirates suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 penalty shootout exit against Casric Stars in the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 last weekend and Chiefs are also reeling after a narrow 2-1 defeat to Stellenbosch FC in their midweek Betway Premiership clash.