An English club has confirmed that they’ll face Betway Premiership side Orlando Pirates in a pre-season friendly in Spain.
Pirates are heading back to Spain for their third consecutive pre-season tour to fine-tune for what promises to be another demanding season.
Under former head coach Jose Riveiro, the Buccaneers previously visited Marbella for their last two European camps. These successful tours saw Pirates face big teams like La Liga giants Sevilla FC and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The European preparations appear to be paying off, as the Soweto giants have since secured several domestic trophies and mounted strong challenges against Mamelodi Sundowns in the league title race.
In addition, Pirates also made it to the semi-final of the CAF Champions League in the previous campaign, where they lost against Pyramids FC 3-2 on aggregate.
And with Pirates looking to compete on the African continent and locally, they will jet out of the country to clash with some of the top clubs in friendlies to prepare for the 2025/26 season.
BOLTON ANNOUNCES ORLANDO PIRATES FRIENDLY
Bolton Wanderers, a club competing in the third division of England, has announced that they’ll face the Sea Robbers. In a statement on their website on Tuesday, Wanderers confirmed that they’ll face Pirates on the 11th of July 2025.
“Bolton Wanderers will travel to Spain for a pre-season training camp, commencing on Sunday, 6 July. 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 club said in a statement.
“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 11 am local time kick-off at the Marbella Football Centre.
“Founded in Soweto in 1937, Orlando Pirates are one of South Africa’s oldest and most successful clubs. Known as ‘The Buccaneers’, they have won nine domestic league titles and are one of the few clubs from the Southern Hemisphere to have won the CAF Champions League, lifting the trophy in 1995.
“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.”
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