Revealed: How Orlando Pirates beat Mamelodi Sundowns' R1 million offer to sign Relebohile Mofokeng

Youth coach and scout Mandla Qhogi has revealed how Orlando Pirates signed Relebohile Mofokeng despite intense interest from Mamelodi Sundowns.

The Premier Soccer League sides were interested in the youngster, but it was the Bucs who won the race, even though Masandawana had tabled a R1 million offer.

Qhogi said he watched Mofokeng play in local tournaments and was moved by the brilliance shown by the youngster.

“I was invited to a tournament – Vino Snap Tournament in the Vaal. It was under 20; he called it Best of the Best. At the time, Pirates were no longer participating in the GDL [Gauteng Development League]. We didn’t have teams in the GDL leagues. So I went there in the Vaal, watched a player, and got interested," Qhogi told FARPost.

Initially, Qhogi said that the Bucs chairman did not act swiftly to sign Mofokeng, but after a recommendation by an entire scouting department, the club acted quickly to get the attacker.

“Normally, the deals are done by the chairman. We can scout players. We bring the information to the club. And then the club will act on that information because there’s a relationship between them and the School of Excellence. It was the principal and the chairman who were dealing with it,” Qhogi added.

“We went to the School of Excellence. They gave us permission to engage the parents. They asked that, after consulting with the parents, we should come back and give them feedback. We went to the parents and then afterwards went to the School of Excellence. The school wrote to the club, and then there was an exchange of communication, but it was also delayed.”

The competition to sign Mofokeng got complicated when PSL heavyweights Sundowns entered the race. Qhogi said Mofokeng trained with the Tshwane giants, but in the end, the player was attracted to the idea of playing for the Sea Robbers.

“There was news that Rele went to train with Sundowns. Sundowns were interested in him, and they were going to sign him. We had to accelerate our pursuit of the player. We went to his parents again, and they gave a go-ahead, but they said they will speak to the player. It turned out he was interested in coming to us. We were able to finalise the deal," he continued.

“Because in that Engen, he was outstanding; everyone was talking about him. But already he was signed by us. I believe there was an offer from Sundowns for R1 million to give to the School of Excellence for the player.”

Mofokeng's brilliance first showed while he was a Grade 11 student in Vaal during the Vino Snap’s tournament. Qhogi, who spent 18 years in the Buccaneers’ development structures, fought hard to ensure he finally signed for Pirates.

Since then, his story and career growth have been meteoric, if not sensational. Currently, he is one of the key players for the Buccaneers and has shown signs of even growing into a very dependable attacker.

After a season of individual brilliance, Mofokeng has been touted as one of the prime candidates to win the PSL Player of the Season. His key rival is Sundowns' Lucas Ribeiro, the league's top scorer and the winner of the PSL title.

Some pundits have argued that Mofokeng is now ripe to play in a different league, some suggesting it is time to move to Europe.

His future is set to attract continued speculation on whether he will stay with the Soweto titans or he will move in search of greener pastures.