Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou targets CAF Champions League glory next season

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has set sights on conquering Africa after inspiring the club to their first South African Premiership title in 14-years.

The Sea Robbers recently crowned their season with the Betway Premiership title, a triumph that has already secured them qualification for next season’s CAF Champions League. For Ouaddou, that achievement is not the final destination but the foundation for an even bigger challenge.

Speaking after the title-winning campaign, Ouaddou expressed strong belief that the same principles that guided Pirates to domestic glory can be replicated on the continental stage.

He was measured in tone but clear in ambition, stressing that success is built through consistent work rather than guarantees.

“Look, I think I’m not a magician, but what we can promise with people, like we did this season, we are going to prepare and sweat for that,” he said. “We will try and make them happy.”

For Ouaddou, the Pirates project has been defined by discipline, trust in the process, and unity between the technical staff, management, and players. He highlighted the importance of alignment within the club structure, noting that everyone involved understands the demands and expectations placed on a team competing at the highest level.

“The players, the management, the technical director knows the work we do every day, the trust that we put in players, our competencies and our qualities,” he explained. “I always believed that the guys would apply what we do in training until the last game, last minute and last second.”

The former AS Vita Club and Marumo Gallants coach has steadily built a reputation for instilling resilience and tactical structure in his teams, and he believes those attributes will be vital if Pirates are to compete with Africa’s elite clubs.

While acknowledging the unpredictable nature of football, Ouaddou insisted that belief and preparation remain the strongest tools in their pursuit of continental success.

“Football is not an exact science,” he added, reinforcing the idea that consistency and effort often matter more than predictions or expectations.

With domestic success now secured, attention at Orlando Pirates is firmly shifting toward the CAF Champions League campaign. The club’s supporters will be eager to see whether the momentum built at home can translate into a serious challenge for continental honours.

For Ouaddou, however, the message is simple: the work has already begun, and the standards set in the domestic triumph will be the benchmark as Pirates aim to write a new chapter in their continental history.