Some stories sting more because of who is telling them. This week, the orlando pirates legend jerry sikhosana went on a podcast and said he feels forgotten by the club he made history with. No tickets, no club gear, not even a friendly look from some of the people he met. Pirates supporters have been talking about little else.
Who is Jerry Sikhosana to Pirates?
If you follow Orlando Pirates, the answer is simple. jerry sikhosana scored the winning goal in the 1995 CAF Champions League final. That one goal is the reason there’s a star above the badge on the jersey today.
Think about what that means. Every other trophy the club has won sits below that night. It remains the biggest moment in Pirates history, and Sikhosana is the man behind it. So when he says he feels ignored, people don’t shrug. They listen.
What he said on the podcast
Sikhosana was a guest on the Kasi Jam podcast, which is part of the Podcast & Chill network. He didn’t tiptoe around the subject. In his view, anyone who looks at that star on the jersey should think of him first and say a simple thank you.
Instead, he says, he has had to stand in the queue with regular supporters just to buy a match ticket. He was quite serious about it too. For a man with his place in the club’s story, that’s not easy to hear, and it’s not easy for him to say out loud either.
He made it clear this isn’t about money. He wants recognition. He feels the people running the club now have either forgotten what he did or simply don’t care.
The Durban moment that hurt
One story he told really stuck. Sikhosana said he was in Durban for a match with former goalkeeper Brian Baloyi. They were taken up to a suite, and there he ran into Thandi Merafe, who he described as the club’s media officer. According to him, she looked away and didn’t greet him.
Then came Edward Motale and Lucky Lekgwathi. Both had on brand new Pirates tracksuits. Sikhosana understood they had been chosen for that game and handed official club gear.
He said the two of them asked where his uniform was. His answer was short. He wasn’t a Pirates legend, he told them, just a guy in his own clothes.
He also pointed to what the other side does. The Chiefs legends, he said, wore their own club’s uniform on the day. He wasn’t going to put on Pirates merchandise after being left out.
Sure, it’s only a tracksuit. But picture being the hero of the club and watching others get a kit while you don’t. That would hurt anyone.
A ticket from a rival
Then came the part that made headlines. Sikhosana said all he asked for was a ticket as a Pirates legend. He was turned down. Kaizer Chiefs gave him one instead.
On his way out, he bumped into Jessica Motaung. He said she’d been told Jerry was asking for tickets. She turned, asked how he was, and told him the club knew who he was. Her words, as he remembered them, were that he might be black on the outside, but they knew him on the inside.
That left a mark. His own summary was this: “I got special treatment from a rival.” And he added that it came from the same team he used to torment in the Soweto derby.
Then he asked the question fans keep repeating. Where are the people he served? Honestly, it’s not an easy question for any club to answer.
Why this story matters to fans
Football in South Africa is about loyalty. People inherit their team from their parents, and they remember the players who made them proud. A name like Sikhosana carries serious weight in a Pirates household.
So the question fans are asking is a simple one. If the man who won the continental title can’t get a ticket or a tracksuit, how is the club treating its other old heroes?
Not everyone will agree, of course. Some may say there’s more to the story, or that it’s all a misunderstanding that one phone call could fix. That’s fair. We’ve only heard one side so far.
At the time of writing, we couldn’t find a public response from the club in the coverage we reviewed. If Pirates do speak, it will add useful context.
A summary of the key points
Here’s a quick look at the main facts:
| Detail | What was reported |
|---|---|
| Who | Jerry Sikhosana, a Pirates icon |
| His claim to fame | Scored the winner in the 1995 CAF Champions League final |
| Main complaint | Lack of recognition from the club |
| Ticket issue | Says he had to queue like any fan |
| Durban incident | Says he was left without club gear while other legends got it |
| Rival gesture | Says Kaizer Chiefs gave him a ticket |
| Today | Owner of Tembisa Hollywood Thunder FC in the ABC Motsepe League |
Still giving back to the game
Here’s something worth noting. Sikhosana hasn’t walked away from football. He owns Tembisa Hollywood Thunder FC, a side in the ABC Motsepe League. That’s the third tier of South African football, where clubs run on passion and community support. If you want to know how the league works, the SAFA website is a good place to start.
So while he feels cast aside by Pirates, he’s out there helping young players get a start. That’s not easy work, and it rarely earns any glory.
It also makes his complaint harder to wave away. He doesn’t sound like a bitter man who quit the game. He sounds like someone who still loves it and wants his old club to remember its own story.
What could happen next
For now, this is a public conversation and nothing more. There’s no sign of a formal dispute or a legal fight. It’s about feelings and respect.
A simple gesture could change the mood. An invitation to a match, a proper legends package, maybe a quiet meeting with the club’s bosses. None of that costs much. Whether Pirates choose to do it is something we’ll have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, the team has football to play. The club continues its season in the Premier Soccer League and other competitions, and you can follow official fixtures and news on the PSL website. Off the pitch, this story may hang around until someone deals with it.
Final thoughts
At its heart, this isn’t about a ticket or a tracksuit. It’s about how a club looks after the people who built its proudest day. When a hero says a rival made him feel more welcome than his own side, fans are going to notice.
The orlando pirates legend jerry sikhosana has spoken. Now it’s up to the club. Staying quiet would be the easy option and hoping the noise dies down. Picking up the phone and saying thank you is just as simple.
The star on the jersey didn’t appear by magic. Real people earned it, and jerry sikhosana is one of them. Plenty of South Africans think that deserves a warmer welcome than a queue outside the stadium.
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