Orlando Pirates have offered club captain Innocent Maela a role within the club with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.
Maela is a Pirates development product having come through the junior rankings of the club, before he was loaned out to Thanda Royal Zulu and helped the side to gain promotion to the Betway Premiership.
He made his first team debut in October 2017 against Golden Arrows and marked 200 games for Pirates in September 2024 against Chippa United.
The forgotten Bafana Bafana left-back is currently sitting on 207th appearances in Pirates colours with six goals to his name, including a memorable goal against Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby. The defender has won two Nedbank Cups, four MTN8 titles, and four times as league runners-up.
iDiski Times has established that Pirates will likely not renew Maela’s contract which is set to expire at the end of the season, with a role within the club said to have been offered to him.
Check out the upcoming Betway Premiership fixtures and the updated log in our match centre.
It’s unclear at this stage what his next designation will be, but the Witbank-born defender will in most likelihood hang up his boots if he opts to take up the role.
The 32-year-old has played just over 280 minutes this season for the Buccaneers in a season that we saw the club participating in five different competitions.
Story by Sinethemba Makonco (@Makonco_M).
