Orlando Pirates secure friendly with top English side

Photo Credit: Orlando Pirates media.

Orlando Pirates will play a friendly against well-known English side Bolton Wanderers during a pre-season tour of Spain on July 11, 2025.

While the Betway Premiership team is yet to announce the tour, the English League One side has confirmed the strength-building match. Wanderers, once a top team in England, confirmed they will travel to Spain for the pre-season training camp on Sunday, 6 July 2025.

The English team says the intensive week-long programme in Marbella is a key part of the squad’s preparations for the upcoming League One campaign under Head Coach Steven Schumacher.

“The trip will conclude with a friendly fixture against South African giants, Orlando Pirates. The match against the Buccaneers will take place on Friday, 11 July, with an 11am local time kick-off at the Marbella Football Centre,” a Wanderers’ statement reads.

The League One team has since explained the context of their choice of Pirates for the friendly, citing the links with Bafana Bafana legend Mark Fish who played for the team in the late 1990s.

“The fixture is given extra resonance by the shared history of defender Mark Fish. The South African international became a champion at Orlando Pirates, winning the African Champions League in 1995, before joining Wanderers two years later after a spell with Italian giants, Lazio,” the statement reads.

Most teams across the world, especially from major leagues, have gone on break. A few others are participating in the FIFA Club World Cup. It is the time of the year when clubs hire new coaches and players to prepare for next season. Pirates are no exception.

With the departure of coach Jose Riveiro to Al Ahly SC, there is no doubt that the Soweto side wants the forthcoming coach to spend more time with the players in a camp training. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that they will play the friendly.