Sundowns face up to four fixture changes before year-end

Mamelodi Sundowns are set for a crowded end to the year, with the PSL likely to rearrange as many as four of their matches despite the club missing out on the Champions League group stages.

Sundowns had reached the group phase in every season since 2015, making this campaign a notable departure. Their failure to reach the last 16, however, will not prevent further disruption to the domestic fixture schedule.

They host Durban City at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg on Saturday, but their other commitments leave the PSL facing a series of scheduling decisions.

Sundowns can only play their Carling Knockout fixture in midweek because they are due to face the CAF Super Cup on November 8. The FIFA calendar then runs from November 9-17.

Should Sundowns reach the Carling Cup semi-finals, that match would have to be staged on November 21. They are scheduled to travel to Mbombela Stadium to play Kruger United on November 28, before returning to Loftus for a meeting with Polokwane City on Saturday, December 5.

The PSL is negotiating the possibility of staging a league match in midweek between November 21 and December 5. That game would come from the fixtures currently scheduled for the middle of December.

A place in the Carling final would create an additional complication. The final is scheduled for December 12, the same date allocated for Sundowns’ FIFA Challenger Cup match – the FIFA Intercontinental Cup semi-final – against the winners of the Derby of the Americas.

That international fixture will be played at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar. If Sundowns reach the Carling Cup final, their FIFA match would take priority, forcing the domestic cup final to be moved to another date.

Their league programme could then require further changes. Matches against Sekhukhune United on December 15 and Stellenbosch on December 18 may also have to be rescheduled if Sundowns advance to the Intercontinental Cup final against PSG on December 16.

As a result, Sundowns could require up to four new dates for matches before the end of the year.