Mamelodi Sundowns appoint former AmaZulu director Pedro Dias as head of scouting

African champions Mamelodi Sundowns have appointed Pedro Dias as their new Head of Scouting, with the Portuguese football administrator taking responsibility for the club’s talent identification programme in South Africa and abroad.

Soccer Laduma has confirmed through sources at Chloorkop that Dias has joined the Tshwane club. The appointment follows his departure from AmaZulu, where he served as Director of Football for two years.

“It’s true. He has joined the club,” a source told Soccer Laduma on Tuesday afternoon.

Sundowns were approached for official comment but declined to respond.

Dias was available after leaving AmaZulu at the end of last season. His new role at Sundowns will involve overseeing the club’s scouting and recruitment work, both locally and internationally, as the African champions seek to maintain their position among the continent’s leading clubs.

The appointment adds an experienced administrator to Sundowns’ football structure. Dias has worked across several countries and areas of the game, including club operations, academy development, player progression and recruitment.

On LinkedIn, Dias describes himself as a “globally experienced football executive and high-performance leader with extensive international experience across elite football clubs, academies, federations, and high-performance football environments spanning Portugal, Canada, USA, New Zealand, and South Africa”.

He also says he is “experienced in leading football operations, technical structures, academy systems, player development pathways, scouting and recruitment functions, football intelligence environments, coaching education frameworks, and integrated football performance operations at the executive leadership level. Recognized for developing sustainable football ecosystems aligned to long-term organizational strategy, club identity, high-performance environments, and elite player progression”.

Before joining AmaZulu, Dias held senior technical positions overseas. He previously worked as technical director at Canadian club Vancouver Whitecaps FC and at Sporting Club’s Portugal Academy.

His arrival comes as Sundowns continue to develop the structures behind their first team and broader football operations. The club’s scouting department will now be led by an administrator whose previous work has included technical leadership, academy systems and the creation of player development pathways.

Dias spent the past two years in KwaZulu-Natal with AmaZulu before becoming available at the conclusion of the previous campaign. Sundowns subsequently moved to secure his services, although the club has not publicly announced the appointment.

The move was confirmed by sources at Chloorkop after reports of Dias’ arrival emerged. While Sundowns declined to provide an official statement, the source’s confirmation established that the former AmaZulu Director of Football had joined the reigning African champions.

The appointment is also reported ahead of the new campaign, with attention beginning to turn towards the MTN8 opener and the availability of players such as Maswanganyi.