Makhoye: Orbit deserve this promotion

by Staff Reporter

Friday Jun 27, 2025. 12:48

Orbit College FC head coach Pogiso Makhoye is delighted to have brought top-flight football back to the North West after a 1-0 victory over Cape Town City on Wednesday secured their promotion to the Betway Premiership.

Makhoye’s side went unbeaten in the promotion playoffs to finish top of the mini table on eight points, having recorded two wins and two draws from their four matches.

Letsie Koapeng’s 47th-minute goal at Olympia Park confirmed the Citizens’ relegation for the first time since the club’s formation in 2016 and there were jubilant scenes for the home players and supporters alike after the final whistle.

The now-defunct Platinum Stars were the last team from the North West to feature in the top tier of South African football before being relegated in 2017-18 and Makhoye admitted the people of the province had hungered for a return to the top of the pyramid.

Makhoye expressed pride in his historic achievement as Orbit followed in the footsteps of Magesi to earn their place in the Betway Premiership for the first time.

“It was difficult, I didn’t prepare the team for the first two games as I was sick,” he told SuperSport.

“I would like to thank Mpumi and Nkosana [Irvin Khoza’s children] for guiding me. Those are my mentors and congratulations to them, and I’m very proud of myself because they believed in me to say, ‘one day you will make history’.

“We deserve to be here because we were the second-best team in the MFC. We took Durban City toe-to-toe to the last day and we knew that this was our moment we needed to promote this team.

“And thanks to the people of Bokone Bophirima… they were starving for [Premiership] football. I wanted to create a legacy even when I started with this club.

“It was a college team and I said one day I needed to promote it to MFC and then take it to the Premiership. And I’m happy I have delivered that to the North West people.”