ABC Motsepe League | 17 July 2026
Baroka FC chairman Khurishi Mphahlele has moved to shut down speculation that Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Veli Mothwa has quietly signed for the club, telling Soccer Laduma this week that the veteran keeper is “just assisting” and not on the payroll. Mothwa, who left University of Pretoria at the end of the 2025/26 season, had been spotted training with the ABC Motsepe League side in recent days — enough for third-party outlets to start assembling the story of a shock signing. Mphahlele’s own words, published on 17 July 2026, are the definitive version.
What the chairman actually said
The full quote, in Mphahlele’s own words: “Yes, Veli is with us. He is just assisting us for now and he is keeping himself busy. We have not employed him. We will see as time goes what happens.” Three sentences, one clarification, one cliff-hanger. Bakone Ba Mphahlele — the club’s traditional identity — are not signing an active Bafana Bafana goalkeeper into an ABC Motsepe League squad. But they are, as of mid-July, giving him a training environment and openly leaving the door open for whatever comes next.
Why Mothwa is even here
Mothwa’s professional situation is unresolved. He left AmaTuks after their 2025/26 Motsepe Foundation Championship campaign and has not publicly signed anywhere; equally, he has not announced retirement. Training with Baroka gives a still-active professional keeper somewhere to keep sharp while he weighs offers or transitions. For Baroka, hosting him is a low-risk association — the club gets to be part of the conversation around a Bafana Bafana keeper without spending on his salary, and the goalkeeper gets to work with the club’s coaching staff without a formal commitment either way.
The Baroka rebuild context
Baroka FC were relegated from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the ABC Motsepe League in April 2026, ending a long period of Championship and Premiership football and dropping the club into the third tier. Mphahlele has previously told local media that Baroka “won’t buy their way back” and is targeting a professional return within three years — a patience-first framing that fits the informal Mothwa arrangement precisely. A Bafana Bafana keeper on the training ground is a symbol of continuity with the club’s better days; his non-signing is a symbol of the discipline the chairman is trying to apply to the rebuild.
