Betway Premiership Off-Season | 19 June 2026
Polokwane City have moved swiftly into the off-season, completing the signing of Orbit College striker Lucky Malatsi on a three-year deal to round off a productive opening window. Born in 2006, Malatsi is the fourth confirmed arrival of the Limpopo club’s 2026/27 rebuild and arrives with a chunky promise tag — the relegated Orbit College’s brightest spark across a difficult Betway Premiership campaign. Rise and Shine had earlier confirmed midfielder Vuyo Kopamotse, defender Motheto Mosotho and youngster Tshepang “Jali” Matube from ABC Motsepe League side Mangaung United, and the Malatsi capture pushes the club closer to a coherent shape for the new coaching staff inheriting the project.
The signing
Malatsi’s appeal is straightforward. He is twenty years old, he has just survived a season in the country’s top flight, and he carried a relegation-bound side for stretches. Polokwane have committed to a three-year deal — the kind of contract length that signals a developmental bet rather than a quick fix. The expectation is that he is groomed behind the senior strike pair before being trusted with longer minutes in the second half of the season.
Reading the rebuild
The shape of the window tells its own story. Three players from a single ABC Motsepe League pipeline, plus a striker on his way down from a relegated PSL side, is a portfolio approach — buy in volume, buy on potential, buy at prices the Polokwane budget can absorb. With Oswin Appollis already gone to Orlando Pirates and right-back Thabang Matuludi heading the same way after the World Cup, the club’s transfer maths is necessarily about replacements found cheaper and younger.
The unresolved coach question
Phuti Mohafe’s departure for Marumo Gallants has left a hole that has not yet been filled publicly. The signings are being processed by the recruitment side of the operation, but the new technical lead will inherit a partially shaped squad rather than a blank canvas. That is not the worst outcome — at least the new coach knows what raw material is in the building before the first ball is kicked in pre-season.
