Mofokeng feeling ‘alive’ again as Pirates start preseason camp

Orlando Pirates star Relebohile Mofokeng cannot wait to see the new season get under way, as the return from the off-season hiatus “brings back” his life.

“I feel alive. Football is back, we’re back, so that brings back my life. The rest was short but then it’s work, what can we say? We have to get going,” Mofokeng told his teammate Sipho Chaine on Monday in a lighthearted interview posted by sportscaster Thomas Mlambo on their arrival in Spain, where Pirates will hold their preseason camp.

New Bucs coach Abdeslam Ouaddou will be hoping to also use the tour to integrate their new signings into the team that proved competitive last season — winning the MTN8 and reaching the CAF Champions League semifinals and the Nedbank Cup final before finishing second in the league for the third season running.

Sipho “Masterchef” Mbule, Bafana Bafana star Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi, Yanela Mbuthuma, Sihle Nduli and Nkosikhona Ndaba are some of the players the Buccaneers have recruited ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Mofokeng has described his new teammates as “good people”, telling them to familiarise themselves with the rest of the squad.

I feel alive. Football is back, we're back, so that brings back my life.

—  Relebohile Mofokeng

“They are coming all right. I think they must just get used to us and everything [else] we will see as time goes,” said the 20-year-old Mofokeng, who was one of Pirates’ best players last season with 15 goals across all competitions.

Pirates went with a 32-man squad to Marbella, Spain, where there’s a series of friendlies lined up for them to prepare for the new term. First up is a fixture against English League One side Bolton Wanderers on Friday, followed by a showdown with newly-crowned Cypriot champions Pafos FC two days later.

The Sea Robbers will then come up against La Liga outfit Las Palmas on July 17 before concluding with a test against Granada on July 19.