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WATCH | Ouaddou hints exit, reveals he almost quit two games into the job

Sowetan · · 458 words · By Sihle Ndebele
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What to know about WATCH

Revealing that he almost resigned when he lost his first two league games, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has hinted that he may not return for the new season after helping the club win their first championship in 14 years.

Claims checked 7
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

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

What happened

Revealing that he almost resigned when he lost his first two league games, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has hinted that he may not return for the new season after helping the club win their first championship in 14 years.

Why it matters

Pirates sealed the deal on the final day of the 2025/2026 season, beating Orbit College 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.

Common ground

The result also relegated Mswenko Boys, who scored two crazy own goals against Pirates, after just one season in the Premiership.

Perspective signals

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

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/2026-05-24-watch-ouaddou-hints-exit-reveals-he-a…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
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Claim 1: “Now, after securing the league title, his third trophy since joining the club before the start of the season”
CORROBORATED
Sowetan claims this was his third trophy, and a web search result explicitly titled 'Three Trophies For Ouaddou' confirms the head coach won three trophies.
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web search 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, ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Premiership
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web search NEUTRAL — 15 hours ago ... ➡️ Three Trophies For Ouaddou: 'I'm A Happy Man' Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was full of credit for everyone associated with ...
https://www.facebook.com/SoccerLaduma/posts/️-three-trophies…
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web search NEUTRAL — 12 hours ago ... ...the last game and we win. So, I'm really, really confident, and my players have to be confident as well. It's the beauty, it's the beauty of ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYsUsBbgKnY/
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 2: “Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has hinted that he may not return for the new season after helping the club win their first championship in 14 years.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is reported by the Sowetan and corroborated by a web search result explicitly mentioning that coach Abdeslam Ouaddou refused to confirm he will remain and hinted at an exit after winning the title (first in 14 years).
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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
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web search NEUTRAL — Orlando Pirates won their first league title in 14 yearsOrlando Pirates. Title-winning coach Abdeslam Ouaddou refused to confirm he will remain coach of Orlando Pirates next season, hinting he may exi…
https://www.tribalfootball.com/article/soccer-betway-premier…
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web search NEUTRAL — — Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) May 14, 2026. Coach Pitso Dladla stated that the team’s immediate priority is recovery, as they have played a lot of matches in the past seven days and they will fo…
https://supersport.com/football/news/4772ae38-1a46-4f07-b8be…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 3: “Pirates sealed the deal on the final day of the 2025/2026 season, beating Orbit College 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Sowetan, Instagram, and two separate web search news snippets) confirm Orlando Pirates beat Orbit College 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium on May 23, 2026, to win the 2025/26 Betway Premiership.
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web search NEUTRAL — 15 hours ago ... ... defeating Orbit College 2-0 at Mbombela Stadium! ☠️⚽️ ... Orbit College They bag their third win of the season to move away from ...
https://www.facebook.com/soccerbeatza/posts/breaking-orlando…
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web search NEUTRAL — 16 hours ago ... ... Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) have won the Betway Premiership title on Saturday, 23 May 2026, after beating Orbit College 2-0 at Mbombela ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYr1YEAKAyj/
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web search NEUTRAL — 15 hours ago ... BREAKING NEWS | Orlando Pirates are the 2025/26 Betway Premiership champions. Pirates beat Orbit College 2-nil at the Mbombela Stadium in ...
https://www.facebook.com/SABCNews/posts/breaking-news-orland…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 4: “Ouaddou also narrated how he nearly resigned when Pirates lost their two opening league fixtures at home to Sekhukhune and away to his former side, Marumo Gallants, last August.”
DISPUTED
Sowetan claims Pirates lost their first two games in August to Sekhukhune and Marumo Gallants. However, web search results from January and February 2026 describe Pirates as having a 'remarkable domestic unbeaten run' of 18 games and drawing with Sekhukhune, which contradicts the narrative of a disastrous start involving two losses in August.
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 14, 2026 ... Team News❗ Orlando Pirates resume Betway Premiership action with a clash against struggling Marumo Gallants on Saturday afternoon. MORE:...
https://www.facebook.com/SoccerLaduma/posts/️-team-newsorlan…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 24, 2026 ... Orlando Pirates' 0-0 draw with Sekhukhune United on Saturday extended their domestic unbeaten run to 18 games but denied them a return to ...
https://www.flashscore.com/news/soccer-betway-premiership-or…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 25, 2026 ... Orlando Pirates' 0-0 draw with Sekhukhune United on Saturday extended their domestic unbeaten run to 18 games but denied them a return to ...
https://www.tribalfootball.com/article/soccer-betway-premier…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 5: “a few coaches such as Gordon Igesund and Ruud Krol, among others, left after winning the league in 2001 and 2011, respectively.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is only reported by the Sowetan. The web search results for 'Gordon' are generic and do not provide information about Gordon Igesund or Ruud Krol's departures from Orlando Pirates.
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web search NEUTRAL — Gordon James Ramsay was born in Johnstone, Scotland, on 8 November 1966, [11][12] the son of Helen (née Cosgrove), a nurse, [13][14] and Gordon James Sr., who worked as a swimming pool manager, welder…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Ramsay
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web search NEUTRAL — Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters Gordon (surname), the surname Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War Gor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon
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web search NEUTRAL — Gordon (/ ˈɡɔːrdən /) is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Scottish surname Gordon. It is uncertain if this surname originated from a place name in Scotland …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_(given_name)
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 6: “The result also relegated Mswenko Boys, who scored two crazy own goals against Pirates, after just one season in the Premiership.”
CORROBORATED
Sowetan reports the relegation of 'Mswenko Boys'. Web search results from 'soccerbeatza' and other sources confirm that Orbit College (referred to as Mswenko Boys in the context of the match) were relegated after their loss to Pirates.
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web search NEUTRAL — 15 hours ago ... Tough end to the season for the Mswenko Boys One year in the top flight and it's back to the NFD. Hard luck to Orbit College after that ...
https://www.facebook.com/soccerbeatza/posts/-with-their-loss…
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web search NEUTRAL — 18 hours ago ... Betway ℙremiership Mswenko Boys and the Buccaneers are still deadlocked in Mbombela stadium. Orbit College 0⃣➖0⃣ Orlando Pirates LIVE ...
https://www.facebook.com/100064262906664/posts/-𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕒𝕪-ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕚…
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web search NEUTRAL — 16 hours ago ... 13 likes, 1 comments - soccerbeatza on May 23, 2026: " With their loss to Orlando Pirates, Orbit College have been relegated from the ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYr3-o7ClZf/
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 7: “he played for teams such as Fulham in England and Olympiacos in Greece”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is mentioned twice within the Sowetan cross-references, but there are no independent external sources or Wikipedia entries provided in the evidence to verify his playing history at Fulham and Olympiacos.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — he played for teams like English topflight side Fulham and Greek giants Olympiacos
https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/2026-05-10-pirates-coach-oua…
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cross reference SUPPORTS — he played for teams such as Fulham in England and Olympiacos in Greece
https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/2026-05-24-ouaddou-hints-exi…
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.