Tinkler blames player fatigue for Sundowns’ shock Champions League exit

Durban City coach Eric Tinkler believes player fatigue may have contributed to Mamelodi Sundowns’ shock elimination from the CAF Champions League.

The South African champions were knocked out in the qualifying round after drawing 1-1 with Angola’s Wiliete SC at Loftus Versfeld, with the visitors advancing to the group stage on the away goals rule.

The result ended Sundowns’ hopes of defending their continental title and marked the first time in 11 editions that they had failed to reach the Champions League group stage.

Tinkler described the outcome as a surprise, given Sundowns’ quality and record of success, but suggested their demanding schedule may have taken its toll.

Speaking to the media after Durban City’s 2-0 defeat by Stellenbosch FC in the Carling Knockout round of 16 on Wednesday, Tinkler pointed to the growing number of competitions and matches players are expected to handle.

“I think obviously for all of us it was a surprise that Sundowns didn’t qualify. For me especially, I expected them to qualify because of the quality and everything that they have. But it obviously begs a lot of other questions as to what were the reasons,” he said.

“The modern game has changed, you know, the amount of competitions that currently exist and the amount of games that players are having to play, in my view, is a lot, it’s too many.

“Somewhere along the line there’s going to be fatigue, as I mentioned, that’s going to creep in, and I think it’s crept into Sundowns because they’ve been so successful over the years.”

Tinkler also highlighted the challenge of returning to club football immediately after the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Several Sundowns players represented South Africa at the tournament, including goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, midfielder Teboho Mokoena, defender Khuliso Mudau, Aubrey Modiba and Themba Zwane.

The players had little time to recover before returning to domestic football and the demands of the Champions League qualifiers.

“Then we had the World Cup and those players immediately had to come back and they had to now go back into the Champions League qualifiers. It’s not easy, it’s hard, very, very difficult,” Tinkler added.

The workload is reflected in the number of appearances made by some of Sundowns’ key players during the 2025-26 season. Williams featured 44 times, Modiba made 42 appearances and Mokoena played 40 matches before the World Cup.

Despite the disappointment of Sundowns’ early exit, Tinkler believes Orlando Pirates have the quality to compete in the Champions League group stage.

However, he was cautious about placing the Buccaneers on the same level as their domestic rivals.

“In my view of what I’ve seen, that Pirates can compete in the Champions League, I think, definitely with the qualities that they have, but are they on the same level as Sundowns? I don’t know,” he said.