Talented attacker not keen to return to Orlando Pirates after Orbit College loan stint - 'I am happy where I am at the moment'

Siyabulela Mabele, originally from Uitval in Ladysmith, has been a key figure at Orbit College for the past four seasons.

The attacker joined the North West-based club in the 2021/22 campaign when they competed in the SAFA ABC Motsepe League, helped them gain promotion to the National First Division in 2022/23, and now celebrates their historic rise to the Premier Soccer League. 

With a place in the top flight now secured, the 22-year-old, who netted 10 goals in the NFD and one in the PSL promotion playoffs, has shared his ambitions for the upcoming season.

“I was playing in my hometown in Uitval and Hlathi, competing for different teams even though my team that I grew up with was the Sea Robbers, which is where I caught the eye of people who could help me find a way to play football in another province far from home,” Mabele said on Isolezwe.

“I was only playing in my hometown because at that time, the team I played for, Sea Robbers, had not joined the league or the LFA at that time. I completed my matric in 2020, after playing in another tournament known as the Siya 10 Games, in Hlathi in 2021, I was then offered the opportunity to go to Orbit College which was playing in the ABC Motsepe League at that time, with the help of Muzi Kunene, Msa Mtshali and James “J” Ntombela, the manager of the Sea Robbers I played for,” Mabele continued to explain about his journey towards professional football.

“I arrived in Rustenburg without knowing anyone, without knowing the Tswana language and having never been outside the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and I started playing for a league team for the first time in my life, and I have never looked back.”

“Our promotion to the Motsepe Championship (National First Division) in the 2022/23 season was the beginning of a dream come true, and before we went to the Motsepe League Play-Offs in Pietermaritzburg that season, I was signed by Orlando Pirates after Orbit played in the Pirates Cup in 2022, as I am still on the books of Pirates who loaned me to Orbit,” Mabele continued.

“And the team’s promotion to the Premier Soccer League means the fulfillment of a dream that has been in my mind for years since I was playing in the dirt at home. At the moment, nothing has been said to me about what will happen with my loan from Pirates, maybe I will hear when I return to Rustenburg to start training with the team on Monday.

“But what I can say is that I am happy where I am at the moment at Orbit, so I would really appreciate another opportunity to play my first season in the PSL with this team that I started with and that is like home to me,” he concluded.

The right-winger isn’t the only Pirates player currently on loan at the club, Monnapule Saleng has also returned to the side where his journey began back in 2019. 

His return marks the end of a challenging spell at the Sea Robbers, where he found himself sidelined during the second half of last season while pushing for a move away from the Buccaneers.

Pirates’ loan duo will be closely watched as they aim to reignite their careers in the PSL. Saleng will be determined to rediscover the form that once made him a fan favourite and earned him a place in the Bafana Bafana setup. 

Meanwhile, Mabele will be eager to prove his worth at the highest level and fight for consistent game time as he steps into the spotlight in the top flight.