Sundowns cleared to field full squad in Intercontinental Cup debut

Mamelodi Sundowns will be able to call on their full squad when they face Al Ahli Saudi in the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup on Saturday.

The match will be Sundowns’ first appearance in the competition, which brings together the champions of all six confederations.

The South African club will face the winners of the 2025/26 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League in a match contested as the African-Asian-Pacific Cup. The winner will then progress to a meeting with the winner of the Derby of the Americas in December.

Sundowns submitted their full squad list and, following the standard registration process, all of their players have been cleared to take part in the fixture.

That decision is significant because cautions and outstanding suspensions from the CAF Champions League will not be transferred to the Intercontinental Cup.

Article 8 of the Regulations for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2026 states:

“Single yellow cards and pending suspensions that could not be served during the confederation’s competition are not carried over to the Intercontinental Cup 2026.

“Single yellow cards shall be cancelled after M3 of the Intercontinental Cup 2026.

“If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match.

“In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.

“Any match suspension (as a result of a direct or indirect red card) that cannot be served during the Intercontinental Cup 2026 will be carried over to the next official club match or matches of the player or team official concerned.”

As a result, Teboho Mokoena and Brayan Leon will begin the tournament without the yellow cards they collected in the CAF Champions League.

Divine Lunga, Ronwen Williams, Arthur Sales and Keanu Cupido will also have their cautions from last season erased for the competition.

The game against Al Ahli is designated Match 2. If the teams are level after 90 minutes, the tie will go to extra-time.