Sifiso Luthuli came off the bench at Moses Mabhida Stadium on 13 December 2025 and broke the deadlock in the 68th minute. Boitumelo Radiopane, another substitute, added the second ten minutes from time, and Orlando Pirates beat the fan-picked Carling All Stars 2-0 in Durban.
That win took the Buccaneers further clear on the Carling Black Label Cup roll of honour. Below is every edition since 2011, checked result by result.
| Carling Black Label Cup | At a glance |
|---|---|
| First edition | 2011, FNB Stadium, Soweto |
| Editions played | 13 (2011 to December 2025) |
| Most titles | Orlando Pirates, 6 |
| Kaizer Chiefs titles | 4, the last in 2021 |
| Current holders | Orlando Pirates (13 December 2025) |
| Biggest winning margin | Mamelodi Sundowns 4-0 Orlando Pirates, 2022 |
| No final played | 2018, 2020 and 2023 |
Carling Black Label Cup winners list, 2011 to 2025
Two editions were staged in 2024, one in January and one in December, which is why the year appears twice.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Orlando Pirates | Kaizer Chiefs | 0-0 (4-3 pens) | FNB Stadium |
| 2012 | Orlando Pirates | Kaizer Chiefs | 1-1 (5-4 pens) | FNB Stadium |
| 2013 | Kaizer Chiefs | Orlando Pirates | 1-0 | FNB Stadium |
| 2014 | Orlando Pirates | Kaizer Chiefs | 0-0 (6-5 pens) | FNB Stadium |
| 2015 | Orlando Pirates | Kaizer Chiefs | 1-1 (4-3 pens) | FNB Stadium |
| 2016 | Kaizer Chiefs | Orlando Pirates | 2-0 | FNB Stadium |
| 2017 | Kaizer Chiefs | Orlando Pirates | 1-0 | FNB Stadium |
| 2019 | Orlando Pirates | Kaizer Chiefs | 2-0 | FNB Stadium |
| 1 Aug 2021 | Kaizer Chiefs | Orlando Pirates | 0-0 (4-3 pens) | Orlando Stadium |
| 12 Nov 2022 | Mamelodi Sundowns | Orlando Pirates | 4-0 | FNB Stadium |
| 6 Jan 2024 | Carling All Stars | Stellenbosch FC | 2-1 | Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane |
| 21 Dec 2024 | Carling All Stars | Magesi FC | 3-0 | Orlando Stadium |
| 13 Dec 2025 | Orlando Pirates | Carling All Stars | 2-0 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban |
The 2018 edition was called off because of the World Cup in Russia, and 2020 was lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The January 2024 final in Polokwane was the first under the new model, with the All Stars taking on Stellenbosch, the inaugural Knockout champions. Mfundo Vilakazi curled in an early free kick, Ashley du Preez converted a penalty and Mervin Boji pulled one back late for Steve Barker's side. The All Stars collected a R2 million winner's cheque.
Eleven months later, Jose Riveiro's All Stars needed less than half an hour to put Magesi away at Orlando Stadium. It was over early. Naledi Hlongwane scored twice and Samkelo Zwane got the other, both Kaizer Chiefs youngsters.
Durban was different.
Pirates, who had won the Carling Knockout against Marumo Gallants a week earlier, travelled without Oswin Appollis and Sipho Mbule, both in the Bafana Bafana camp ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, and Relebohile Mofokeng was also unavailable, yet Abdeslam Ouaddou's bench settled it against an All Stars side coached by Manqoba Mngqithi.
“I'm not surprised because it's a club that has ambition who knows what they want and we're working for them,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV afterwards, calling it the club's third trophy of the season. Three in three months.
The 2026 edition had not been played at the time of this update. Pirates hold it until then.
How many Carling Black Label Cups have Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates won?
Orlando Pirates have six titles: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2025. Kaizer Chiefs have four, from 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2021.
So Pirates lead.
In the nine finals that were straight Soweto derbies, the Buccaneers won five and Amakhosi four. Four of those five Pirates wins came on penalties. Fine margins, mostly. Pirates also edged Chiefs 6-5 on penalties in the 2022 semi-final after a goalless draw, before Sundowns thrashed them 4-0 in the final that evening.
Chiefs fans will point out that their players still feature. Hlongwane and Zwane were the match winners for the All Stars in December 2024.
Then there are the outsiders. Mamelodi Sundowns have one title, won on their debut. The Carling All Stars have two.
How the format works: the fans pick the team
For its first decade the tournament was a one-day pre-season derby between Chiefs and Pirates, and the gimmick was always the vote. Supporters entered codes from Carling Black Label products to choose the starting line-ups, and during the match they could even decide substitutions by text message, something no other fixture on the South African calendar offered. In 2022 the fans voted for two extra clubs, which is how Sundowns and AmaZulu joined the Soweto giants in a four-team event.
Then came the overhaul. Since the 2023/24 season, the winners of the Carling Knockout Cup meet an All Stars XI voted for solely by the public. All 16 top-flight clubs enter the Knockout.
The starting line-up is made up of six PSL players and five from the DStv Diski Challenge, the reserve league. Fans also vote for the man of the match, worth R100 000, and one supporter is chosen as Champion Coach to work with the All Stars technical team.
Not to be confused with the Knockout itself. That trophy has its own honours board.
Our view
The fixture has outgrown its derby roots without losing the thing that made it popular, which is the sense that supporters own a piece of the team. Two All Stars wins in three finals suggest a fan-picked side is no pushover, and with Diski Challenge players guaranteed five places, it remains one of the few big-stadium stages where a reserve-team teenager can be seen by a full house. Pirates will want a seventh.
This article was most recently revised and updated 28 seconds ago
