How Orlando Pirates supporters turn away matches into home fixtures

In this edition of Supporters Forum, KickOff speaks to lifelong Orlando Pirates supporter Jwara-Bucs about how The Ghost regularly fills stadiums wherever the club plays.

Jwara says the close relationship between the club’s supporters’ branches, together with constant communication, is the key reason Pirates attract such strong backing on the road.

“Our membership is growing every day; we just welcomed the Nongoma Supporters Branch, and we were launching it officially,” shares Jwara.

He believes the size of the Pirates support continues to increase because supporters actively encourage fans of other clubs to join them.

“People are leaving their favourite teams because of the love we are showing them. When we visit fellow branches, we remind them how important it is for our team to have us as player-number 12 so that wherever the team goes, our players feel like they have never left the Orlando Amstel Arena.

“I run all over 9 provinces preaching the gospel of volunteering our time to the club’s matches. I tell them whenever the team is coming to their province, they must go there in numbers.

“The communication amongst our branches is so beautiful. The way we support each other during bad times, you wouldn’t believe we are just Pirates supporters, not Pirates officials. We honour a supporter during death, you would think he was part of the Pirates management.

“So, wherever they take the MTN8 final, we are not scared of Mamelodi Sundowns’ 57 supporters. We are many. We will be playing at home,” he adds.

Jwara’s comments underline the importance Pirates supporters place on travelling to matches and ensuring the team receives a strong reception away from home. He also credited the branches with providing support to one another during difficult periods, saying their bond goes beyond match-day commitments.

The Nongoma Supporters Branch is the latest addition to the growing network, with its official launch taking place as membership continues to expand.

The supporters’ commitment will be tested again when Orlando Pirates travel to face Kruger United in their next league match on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to begin at 19:30 at Mbombela Stadium.

The discussion comes after related remarks from Rasta, who said: “We want to compete with Pirates”, while Zongo has backed Pirates wonderkid Padime to follow in the footsteps of Mofokeng.