Emotional Kopo beams as protégé Appollis makes a big move to Orlando Pirates

By Velile Mnyandu
4th July 2025

AmaTuks' coach, Kwanele Kopo, broke down when he heard that his protégé and Bafana Bafana flying winger, Oswin Appollis, had left Polokwane City for a big move to Soweto giants Orlando Pirates.

It was Kopo’s foresight, taking Appollis from the wilderness and making his attraction again for big-time football at Rise and Shine.

When he was still coaching in the Motsepe Foundation Championship at Pretoria Callies, he took a flight to Cape Town and convinced a troubled and out-of-shape Appollis to come back to the game.

"To be honest, I was very emotional yesterday, I broke down in tears yesterday. I'm so happy for him, it's emotional, it's difficult. I know where Oswin comes from, I know what Oswin has gone through and I spoke to him yesterday and I said you remember when I called you, I spoke about two things, I said to you, we can reinstate your career to get back into the national teams,” Kopo said.

“I said we can reinstate your career for you to go on and play for one of the big teams in South Africa and yesterday was the completion of that process."

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Kopo recalls how he brought Appollis, a former South African U20 and U23 international with FIFA U20 World Cup experience, to Pretoria Callies.

He had returned home to Cape Town after falling out with the coaches at SuperSport United, where they had also previously worked together with Kopo.

The former Bafana assistant coach says Appollis’ move was a touching moment for him.

"I took him to Callies when nobody wanted him, sitting at home for almost two years, he was overweight. We worked with him at Callies, he got sharp in one season and suddenly he was the talk of the town,” he added.

“The chairman of Polokwane City gave him a chance, Polokwane City saw him, they gave him a chance. He excelled, he went into the national team, he got back to the under 23s first when he was still at Callies.

“Now he's progressed to Bafana Bafana and now wow, to move to one of the big three. A team with a rich tradition, CAF Champions League competitor, Betway Premiership competitor, it was touching for me."