Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has delivered a frank explanation for the club’s inability to play their final Betway Premiership fixture in the midst of their CAF Champions League final commitments, dismissing the notion as logistically impossible. With Sundowns set to host AS FAR at Loftus Versfeld on May 17 before travelling to Morocco for the return leg seven days later, their domestic clash against TS Galaxy was eventually moved to May 12. Cardoso stressed the sheer impracticality of squeezing another high-intensity match between the two continental final legs, pointing to the gruelling travel demands of North African ties. “No, that would be absolutely impossible,” Cardoso stated, explaining that without two separate squads, the club could not shuttle across the continent and still meet fixture obligations.
The Portuguese coach illustrated the severity of the travel issues by referencing Sundowns’ recent semi-final trip to face Esperance, revealing that the team could not secure a night flight slot upon their return and were forced to fly the following morning. He noted that had they taken the night flight, they would have been required to play within two days, underscoring the harsh realities clubs face when competing deep in CAF tournaments. Cardoso declined to elaborate on the specific discussions between Sundowns management and the Premier Soccer League regarding the fixture rescheduling, but his comments made clear that the club’s continental ambitions left no room for additional domestic pressure during that window.
Cardoso also raised serious concerns about player fatigue, warning that the punishing schedule was taking a physical toll on his squad. Having begun his career as a fitness coach, he stressed his deep understanding of player physiology and claimed he had repeatedly warned the club that this sequence of matches would result in injuries. “I was very objective with my club, telling them on this sequence of matches we would lose a lot of players,” Cardoso said, calling on his experience of managing over 80 matches in South Africa to underline the reality of the situation. His