Treble winner Ouaddou casts doubt over long-term Orlando Pirates future

“I need energy, I need power. Without energy. It will be difficult to continue,” said Ouaddou.

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou cast doubt over his long-term future at Orlando Pirates this past weekend after winning the Betway Premiership title to complete a historic treble.

Having already won the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout, the Buccaneers completed the treble by beating ORBIT College 2-0 in a league match at the Mbombela Stadium on the final day of the 2025/26 season on Saturday.

Ouaddou needs energy

Speaking to SABC Sport after the match, Ouaddou caused a bit of a stir when he said he was “tired” and was unsure of his future. For a coach who had just won a treble in his first season with the club, Ouaddou’s comment caught many by surprise.

“I need energy, I need power. Without energy. It will be difficult to continue,” said Ouaddou.

The Moroccan coach later echoed his sentiments during the post-match conference and admitted he will consult with his family before deciding on his future.

“My only wish is now to rest and to be with my family, who are here and I thank them for supporting me in the job, and to think about the future, this is the most important thing for me. Because you cannot lie to people, this job is very difficult and you need all this capacity and psychology and motivation to lead such a project.

“I have to sit, think and speak with my fantastic and honest management people who have been fantastic in supporting me this season, so I need to speak to them,” said Ouaddou.

‘It’s not about contract or money’

“Again, I repeat, it’s not about a contract or money, it’s about energy. You need energy to lead this project, and there are a lot of expectations from the fans,

“I speak now because I’m tired, it has been 10 months of working and I need energy, so I’m not able to talk to you about the future now at the moment,” explained Ouaddou before revealing that he came close to leaving Pirates after suffering back-to-back defeats at the beginning of the season.

“So, when I lost these two games, I didn’t have any other choice, just to propose my resignation to my management. I am honest and I am an honest man. I’m not chasing contracts; I’m not chasing money. I’m doing this job for love.

“If people don’t like me, what can I do? I just have to give my resignation. I don’t ask anything, I shake your hand, I take my flight and I go back to France, but I have a chance to be supported by fantastic people.

“They didn’t want to hear about that. They said no, we interviewed you maybe more than five times, we listened to you, we know exactly that you are the man that can lead us to the Promised Land,” concluded Ouaddou.