A brief look at the storied history of the Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs

Cape Town — South Africa's premier showpiece encounter between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs ranks alongside the world's iconic football derbies which fuelled cross-town rivalries from one generation to generation to the next.

Some of the greatest derbies such as Celtic vs Rangers (Glasgow, Scotland), Boca Juniors vs River Plate (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Al-Ahly vs Zamalek (Cairo, Egypt), Liverpool vs Manchester United (England) and Barcelona vs Real Madrid (Spain) spring to mind and are followed worldwide.

The Pirates — Chiefs showdown was first played in Soweto in January 1970, when the teams featured in a curtain-raiser. The occasion was the Rogue Beer Cup third-fourth play-off which Pirates won 6-4.

No one would have foreseen that these two teams in the curtain-raiser would grow in stature to the extent that over the next decade, they would attract fans from far and near. Past players recall that from the mid-70s onwards, hundreds streamed across South Africa's borders from neighbouring countries to watch the Soweto Derby.

The 1970 Rogue Beer Cup was played between Moroka Swallows and Pimville United Brothers (PUBS). These were two football giants in Soweto, the abbreviation for South Western Townships, which came into being in the 1930s.

Before 1970, these two teams ruled the roost in Soweto until the late 1960s when Orlando Pirates shot into prominence after it had attracted the finest players. One of the players there at the time was Kaizer Motaung, one of the finest in the country at the time.

In 1969, Motaung tried to settle a dispute in the club after Pirates punished players for playing in a match without permission. When his efforts came to nought he resigned from the club and started a club, which