Forget Nkosinathi Sibisi, Tapelo Xoki, or Olisa Ndah for Orlando Pirates captaincy! Abdeslam Ouaddou tips teenager to succeed Innocent Maela - 'We believe that he’s a captain'

Innocent Maela served Orlando Pirates as their captain until his contract expired at the end of the 2025/26 season.

The former Bafana Bafana international struggled for game time in the concluded campaign, which saw Nkosinathi Sibisi and Tapelo Xoki, when fit, captaining the team.

Prior to that, Nigeria international Olisa Ndah had been given the mandate to lead the team in Maela's absence, but injuries limited him.

Sipho Chaine, Xoki, Sibisi, and Ndah have been tipped as the potential candidates to succeed Maela.

Surprisingly, coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes teenager Mbekezeli Mbokazi has every characteristic to lead Pirates.

He argues the 19-year-old has proven his credentials despite his young age and might be considered the club's skipper permanently.

“Mbokazi is one of the big men of this team, he’s South African and he is proud of what he’s doing,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV.

“He’s someone we believe that he’s a captain, and we’re taking it step by step. We want to give him more game time because he will be one of the main men for us this season.

“So we’re trying to give him that responsibility, and he was fantastic, he had a great match, and he needs to continue like this,” the Moroccan mentor added.

Bucs are currently in Spain for pre-season, where they have already played against an English League One side, Bolton Wanderers, and the Cypriot champions Pafos, with Mbokazi wearing the captain's armband in the second-half.

The first game ended 2-0 in favour of the Trotters, while the spoils were shared in the second one that ended 1-1 against Pafos.

It is interesting to see whether Bucs can overlook the experienced players in favour of a player who made his debut mid-last season.