Orlando Pirates captain Nkosinathi Sibisi and Kaizer Chiefs attacker Ashley Du Preez backs their respective clubs to lift the 2025-2026 Betway Premiership championship.
Ahead of their league openers against Sekhukhune United and Stellenbosch FC, respectively, this upcoming weekend, Sibisi and Du Preez are confident of ending Sundowns’ eight seasons’ grip on the league title.
Speaking to the media ahead of league opener on Saturday against Sekhukhune United this Saturday, Sibisi insisted that the club’s recruitment put them in a better position to compete for competitions this season including the league but they won’t put pressure on themselves about winning the league.
“As I have said, we don’t want to overwhelm ourselves with being obsessed with the league title,” Sibisi tells the media.
“We just want to take it one game at a time. So, to say where we fell short mainly last season, you can’t exactly pinpoint.
“But I think with the quality that we have and the depth that we have right now, we can go all the way.
“So, you can’t really pinpoint, but the belief is there to go all the way in all competitions. It started last Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Du Preez shared the importance of Chiefs starting the season with positive results, especially against tough opposition like Stellenbosch FC, as it shows they can compete and win trophies, especially the league.
“For me, personally, I couldn’t wait for the league to start. Everyone starts on a clean [slate] and write history,” Ashley Du Preez told the club’s Communications Manager Vina Maphosa.
“But I think for us as a club, I think we can start competing for the league with the first game.
“[The] first game is a tough game we are playing Stellenbosch, and I think this [season] we can compete for everything we have, for the league, for the cup games.
“We just have to from day one be 100% sure that we can compete and win the league.”
While Pirates’ match against Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium will kick off at 5h30 pm South African time on Saturday, their arch-rivals, Chiefs will kick off their league season 24 hours away to Stellenbosch FC at Athlone Stadium.