Former Orlando Pirates dribbling wizard Mark Mayambela has called for greater professionalism from the club’s players, stating that some appeared to be “playing for TikTok” during their defeat to Sekhukhune United.
The Soweto giants suffered a 1-0 loss to Babina Noko in their opening game of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season at Orlando Stadium under the tutelage of new head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.
Siphesihle Mkhize’s solo goal in the 48th minute of the showdown was enough for the Limpopo club to walk away with maximum points against the Sea Robbers.
As a result, Pirates mentor Ouaddou was left to rue missed chances after his side’s disappointing performance against the Eric Tinkler-coached club.
MARK MAYAMBELA ON ORLANDO PIRATES PLAYERS’ PERFORMANCE AGAINST SEKHUKHUNE UNITED
The 37-year-old retired footballer and now coach, Mayambela, said he felt that at certain points in the game, the Pirates players were performing for social media. He suggested they were playing to create content for TikTok videos in order to get validation from people.
“Trying is not good enough, to be honest. Trying is not going to close the gap between the club and the leaders of the league or the team [Mamelodi Sundowns] that has won the league eight times in a row,” Mayambela told SoccerBeat.
“You know, we need a little bit of personality and professionalism because there are moments in the game when you watch and feel like players are doing things for TikTok or for social media, hoping that people will upload them and so on. For me, it was not good enough.”
The Happy People will now shift their focus to their next league encounter against Marumo Gallants away from home on Tuesday, 12 August 2025.
The game between Bahlabane ba Ntwa and the Buccaneers will take place at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein, with the kick-off set for 19:30.
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