Sundowns’ fixture reshuffled as home games face stadium and calendar clashes

Mamelodi Sundowns’ next Betway Premiership home match has been moved to Royal Bafokeng Stadium, while the fixture has also been brought forward by a day.

Sundowns will host Durban City in Phokeng, in the North West province, rather than at their usual base in Tshwane. The change means a 140km journey to the venue.

The match was originally scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, November 1, but will now be played on Saturday, October 31 at 20h15 under floodlights.

Loftus Versfeld is unavailable because the Bulls are due to face the Scarlets in a rugby match there on October 31. The Bulls are also scheduled to play at the stadium on October 24, preventing Sundowns from using the venue for their CAF Champions League second leg against Wiliete Sport Clube de Benguela.

Sundowns travel to Angola this weekend for the first leg of that tie.

Loftus Versfeld will subsequently be prepared for Sundowns’ CAF Super Cup meeting with USM Alger, which is scheduled for November 7/8. Before that fixture, the South African champions must also play their Carling KnockOut first-round match against Marumo Gallants.

The period from November 9-17 has been set aside for the FIFA calendar. Should Sundowns reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, that match will have to be played on November 21.

Their league fixture against Kruger United, currently scheduled for November 28, could also be postponed if Sundowns qualify for the CAF Champions League group stages. Those matches begin on the same weekend.

Sundowns’ December schedule is similarly uncertain, with league games against Polokwane City on December 5, Sekhukhune United on December 15 and Stellenbosch on December 18 all potentially subject to change.

Those fixtures could be affected by FIFA’s dates for the Intercontinental Cup. Sundowns are expected to travel to Qatar for the semi-final, known as the Challenger Cup, where they will meet the winner of the Derby of the Americas.

If they progress, they will remain in Qatar for the final against Paris Saint-Germain. Both matches will take place at some point in December.

A place in the Carling Cup final, pencilled in for December 12, would create further scheduling difficulties, depending on the dates FIFA selects for the Intercontinental Cup semi-finals and final.

CAF has reserved December 4/6 and December 18/20 for match days two and three respectively. As a result, Sundowns’ league fixtures against Polokwane City and Stellenbosch are particularly vulnerable to further changes.

With their domestic, continental and international commitments still to be settled, Sundowns could play fewer than five league matches for the rest of the year. In the most demanding scenario, they may have only two league games remaining in 2025.