Orlando Pirates have announced that the Pirates Cup tournament has returned after a two-year absence.

This year’s cup will be taking place from Friday the 3rd of June until Monday the 6th of June after the event was forced to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

In previous instalments of the tournament, the Pirates Cup has become the breeding ground for some of South Africa’s young talents who are now plying their trade in the DStv Premiership, including Ethan Brooks, Tshegofatso Nyama, Luke Fleurs, Boitumelo Radiopane, Azola Tshobeni and Simiso Bophela are just a few names who competed in the 2019 edition.

Fleurs, who is now a regular starter in the SuperSport United senior team was instrumental in guiding the junior Matsatsantsa to Pirates Cup victory as they narrowly defeated four-time winners and hosts Orlando Pirates in the final.

This year the young Buccaneers will be looking to regain their gong but will have to be at their best because this year’s event promises to feature the most competitive line up in recent years, with more PSL teams entering the competition than ever before.

A prize pool of R100 000 is up for grabs in 2022’s showpiece, which will be held from 15 – 18 April 2022. The winners will walk away with R60 000, while the runners-up and third place will bag R30 000 and R10 000, respectively.

There will also be individual prizes up for grabs for the Tournament MVP and the Top Goal Scorer, who will both walk away with R5 000 each.

Aside from the cash prize that teams will be competing for, the one thing that has set the Pirates Cup apart from other youth tournaments is the opportunity that players will get to be part of the Project X Tour.

Players who impress the scouts stand a chance to represent the next Project X squad that will compete internationally. Previous trips for Project X have seen the team travel to England and Brazil, where the players got an opportunity to compete with the likes of Manchester United, Flamengo, West Ham, and Fluminense, to name a few.

The Project X alumni includes: Yusuf Maart (2017), Ricardo Lourenco (2017), Lyle Foster (2018) and Zakhele Lepasa (2019).

Teams that are interested in participating in this event should email mahlaku@orlandopiratesfc.co.za or josyt@orlandopiratesfc.co.za for more information. Please include your team name and contact details in the email.

The tournament entry fee is R2 300 per team. Closing date for entries has been set for close of business on March 30, 2022.

Only players born on or after 1 January 2001 are eligible to participate in the Competition.