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Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza with new signing Luis Boa Morte.

Irvin Khoza wants to turn the Premier Soccer League into a “league of choice” for overseas stars, after on Tuesday confirming the signing of Luis Boa Morte on an 18-month contract.

Former Arsenal, Fulham and West Ham forward Boa Morte was welcomed to the club by the Buccaneers chairman in the very same Houghton boardroom that Benni McCarthy was unveiled at the start of the season.

And the influx of famous names to the PSL, albeit in the golden years of their career, may well not end there, with former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg rumoured to be interested in a move to South Africa, and Boa Morte suggesting on Tuesday that former Chelsea midfielder Maniche also wanted to come to these shores.

“I think people underestimate the PSL because it is in Africa and they don’t know much about it,” said Boa Morte.

“I think just because it’s in Africa people think it doesn’t have good pitches and it doesn’t have quality. I think people are making enquiries now that they have had a chance to watch the league, and they have a different opinion. I heard Ljungberg is coming over, I don’t know if it’s true. I know a friend of mine, Maniche (a fellow Portugese international) was interested to come to South Africa too, so it’s a good sign.”

Khoza, who is also the PSL chairman, suggested that the arrival of McCarthy and Boa Morte could just be the tip of the iceberg.

“We want to make this league the league of choice,” said Khoza. “We know that Europe right now is the destination of choice, you see the talent flooding to Europe from Africa.”

Questioned on the realism of his ambitions, Khoza brought up the US Major League Soccer, where stars such as David Beckham and Thierry Henry now play.

“You have to start somewhere,” he said. “Look at America, where did they start. Jomo (Sono) and Kaizer (Motaung), how did they become famous? The New York Cosmos got Pele … We have only been back since 1992 … we are moving in the right direction … people started noticing us because of the World Cup. Never in history has it been so successful and people noticed this … we are not a bad league, we are a very good league.”

For now, Boa Morte is here, the same age, at 34, as his good friend McCarthy, who despite a good start to his Pirates career, has proved rather injury prone.

“Age for me has never been an issue, as long as I feel fit,” said Boa Morte, however. “I feel now I will be able to compete with any age group at any stage.”

Boa Morte confirmed that he decided to come to South Africa after a chat with McCarthy, and is also excited by the prospect of playing on the African continent.

“I had a long chat with Benni and I made some research about the league,” he said.

“The continent is not a surprise for me because my background is from Africa, and my wife’s family is from Africa as well. So that’s another important thing, for me to come and play in Africa.”

Khoza, meanwhile, added that Boa Morte will not be able to play for Pirates in the preliminary rounds of the African Champions League, as the registration date has already passed.

The Pirates chairman indicated that one more major signing would be announced soon, but refused to confirm whether any of Golden Arrows Njabulo Manqana, Free State Stars’ Thabo Matlaba, SuperSport United’s Thandani Ntshumayelo had joined the club as has been speculated.

Khoza did confirm, however, that Clifford Ngobeni and Siphelele Mthembu had joined Golden Arrows, and that Chiukepo Msowoya, Lucas Thwala and Patrick Malokase had gone to Platinum Stars. – The Star