Ncikazi urges Pirates to prepare as ‘team to beat’ next season

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Jun 01, 2026 · 287 words · By Sihle Ndebele

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What to know about Ncikazi urges Pirates to prepare as ‘team to beat’ next season

Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has implied that Bucs’ success in the just-concluded campaign won’t count for anything in the new season, warning that they are going to be a team to beat.

Claims checked 8

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Pirates bagged three cups in the 2025/26 season under coach Abdeslam Ouaddou in his first season at the club after replacing Jose Riveiro, who won four trophies in three years.

Common ground

Bucs’ 2025/26 season’s trophy haul includes the league title, their first in 14 years.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Ncikazi urges Pirates to prepare as ‘team to beat’ next season?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Bucs’ 2025/26 season’s trophy haul includes the league title, their first in 14 years?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/2026-06-01-ncikazi-urges-pirates-to-prepare-as-t…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

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cancel Disputed 2

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Claim 1: “Bucs’ 2025/26 season’s trophy haul includes the league title, their first in 14 years”

CORROBORATED

Both a cross-reference (Dailydispatch) and a web search result confirm that Orlando Pirates won the 2025/26 league title and that it was their first in 14 years.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The MTN 8 is a South African soccer cup competition launched in 1972 for teams who finished in the top 8 positions of the league table of the country's preceding season of the top-flight league (curre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTN_8

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Orlando Pirates are a professional indoor football team based in Orlando, Florida, area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team plays its home games at Kia Center. They began p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Pirates_(IFL)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Pirates_F.C.

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “Pirates, who supplied Bafana Bafana with eight players for the upcoming World Cup”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Orlando Pirates have eight representatives in the Bafana Bafana squad for the 2026 World Cup.

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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... While many people will talk about Bafana Bafana's qualification for the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, let's not ignore the massive contribution ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/610655506233943/posts/while-…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 27, 2026 ... Williams and Mokoena are among eight Mamelodi Sundowns players in the selection. Orlando Pirates also boast eight representatives, including ...
https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexi…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... Six Stars Miss Out on Bafana's World Cup Squad! The final 26-man Bafana Bafana squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been confirmed, but six ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZNU-geEYWP/

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Claim 3: “the upcoming World Cup, to be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada”

CORROBORATED

Cross-references confirm that the upcoming FIFA World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — The upcoming FIFA World Cup is not only being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and his beloved Canada, but he also has two horses in the race, as Haiti has also qualified for the tournament for…
https://krdo.com/news/2026/04/20/anything-i-get-is-always-go…

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Claim 4: “Pirates bagged three cups in the 2025/26 season under coach Abdeslam Ouaddou”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that under coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, Orlando Pirates won the 2025/26 league title and achieved a 'treble' (three cups).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Abdeslam Ouaddou (Arabic: عبدالسلام وادو; born 1 November 1978) is a Moroccan football coach and former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is the current c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdeslam_Ouaddou

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Afri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Premiership

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “Bucs visited almost all their sponsors to parade their three cups, having won the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout before adding the league title”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the 2025/26 trophy haul included the Betway Premiership (league title), the MTN8, and the Carling Knockout Cup.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024–25 season of the league was Orlando Pirate's 29th consecutive season in the Premiership. The team won the MTN 8 and from the year 2024/25. The team finished 2nd in the Premiership and qualif…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024–25_Orlando_Pirates_F.C._s…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sipho Justin Chaine (born 14 December 1996) is a South African soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Orlando Pirates in the South African Premier Division and the South Africa national team. He …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipho_Chaine

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Pirates players in the Bafana World Cup squad are Sipho Chaine, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Thalente Mbatha, Tshepang Moremi, Oswin Appollis, Relebohile Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa”

DISPUTED

There is a contradiction in the number and names of players. One source lists 8 players matching the claim exactly, while another source ('Treble winners and African kings...') lists 9 players, adding Patrick Maswanganyi to the list.

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web search NEUTRAL — They are Sipho Chaine, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Kamogelo Sebelebele, Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Relebohile Mofokeng and Evidence Makgopa. South Africa contests Group A, which also inc…
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sport/soccer/bafana-bafana/e…

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web search NEUTRAL — Oswin Appollis scores highly on Matches, Goals, and Rating compared to left wingers in the Premiership. Oswin Appollis's 10 most recent matches are shown below. Visit each match page for full details …
https://www.fotmob.com/players/1054166

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web search NEUTRAL — The nine Pirates players in the Bafana squad are Sipho Chaine, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Evidence Makgopa, Relebohile Mofokeng, Patrick Maswanganyi, and Kamo…
https://iol.co.za/sport/soccer/bafana/2026-05-26-treble-winn…

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Claim 7: “Jose Riveiro... won four trophies in three years”

DISPUTED

Sources contradict the exact number of trophies. One source (Facebook/Grokipedia) mentions 5 trophies, while the claim states 4. There is no single authoritative count provided across the evidence to confirm 'four' specifically.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Relebohile Mofokeng (né Ratomo; born 23 October 2004) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Orlando Pirates and the South Africa national tea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relebohile_Mofokeng

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — José Luis Riveiro Cabaleiro (born 15 September 1977) is a Spanish professional football manager who is the manager of the Swedish club AIK in Allsvenskan.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Riveiro

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “Abdeslam Ouaddou [replaced] Jose Riveiro”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including a Wikipedia entry and news reports, explicitly state that Abdeslam Ouaddou was appointed as head coach and succeeded Jose Riveiro.

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web search NEUTRAL — Abdeslam Ouaddou is a Moroccan football coach and former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is the current coach of South African Premier Soccer League clu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdeslam_Ouaddou

+ 2 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.