Orlando Pirates have made a decision on the future of their assistant coach, Mandla Ncikazi, who will be out of contract at the end of June.
The Buccaneers recently parted ways with Sergio Almenara, who was the first of the two assistant coaches to the club’s head coach, Jose Riveiro.
Almenara joined the Soweto giants in 2022 alongside Riveiro and they went on to lift MTN8 and Nedbank Cup trophies twice each.
This leaves Riveiro with Ncikazi as his sole remaining assistant coach. However, the contract of the former Golden Arrows coach was due to expire at the end of June.
In addition, Pirates released several players, most recently including Fortune Makaringe, Thabang Monare, Richard Ofori, Siyabonga Mpontshane, Kermit Erasmus and Souaibou Marou.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR MANDLA NCIKAZI?
FARPost has learnt that Pirates have extended the contract of Ncikazi with two years and he will now be at the club until June 2026.
The 55-year-old coach has been with Ezimnyama Ngenkani since joining from Golden Arrows in 2021.
Initially, he was serving as an assistant coach along with Fadlu Davids under the then-head coach Josef Zinnbauer.
After Zinnbauer’s dismissal, Ncikazi and Davids were appointed co-coaches. They led the Pirates to the CAF Confederation Cup final, where they lost on penalties to Moroccan side RS Berkane.
Davids left the club in 2022, with his contract not renewed upon its expiration at the end of the season. Davids reunited with Zinnbauer at Raja Casablanca, and they are on the verge of winning the league.
MANDLA NCIKAZI’S LINKS WITH RICHARDS BAY FC LAST SEASON
Meanwhile, Ncikazi was heavily linked with the move to the KwaZulu-Natal side Richards Bay FC last season as a potential replacement for Vasili Manousakis.
He was reportedly on the club’s shortlist along with Zinnbauer and Luc Eymael.
Ultimately, Richards Bay appointed Kaitano Tembo, who was available after his dismissal from Sekhukhune United.
Ncikazi’s coaching experience extends beyond Golden Arrows and Pirates. He also served as an assistant coach under Steve Komphela at Maritzburg United, even taking on an interim head coach role there.
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