Venue switch disrupts Mamelodi Sundowns’ Intercontinental Cup preparations

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso says the decision to move Saturday’s Betway Premiership match against Chippa United from Gqeberha to East London has disrupted the club’s preparations for next weekend’s FIFA Intercontinental Cup fixture.

The game was due to take place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium but will now be played at Buffalo City Stadium. Kick-off remains scheduled for 3pm.

Sundowns had planned to fly back to Gauteng immediately after the match in Gqeberha. However, the change means they will have to remain in East London overnight, with the next available flight not leaving until 5pm on Sunday.

Cardoso had intended to give his players two days off before beginning a four-day preparation programme for the meeting with Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli. The revised travel arrangements mean that plan will have to change.

“I just want you to understand that the change of plans clearly disrupts our plans for the Intercontinental Cup,” Cardoso told the media after Sundowns’ 3-0 victory over Siwelele FC on Thursday night.

“Do you know why? Because when the match was changed, we cannot travel back on the same day and we cannot travel on the morning of the following day. We only have a flight at 5pm on Sunday.

“After the match, we are going to stay there for one day, watching each other’s faces in the hotel, and maybe we can go to the beach.”

Cardoso questions venue decision

The Sundowns coach said the altered venue would reduce the recovery time available to his squad and criticised the circumstances surrounding the decision.

“It means that by allowing the change of this venue, or not putting us at a venue where we can travel, we are not being given the right conditions to prepare for the match,” he said.

“You can say we still have six days to prepare for the match, but I had planned to give my players two days off and then have four days of preparation for the Intercontinental Cup.”

Cardoso also questioned why a club could identify a particular ground as its home venue at the beginning of a season, only for that arrangement to later be changed.

“I don’t understand why. A club at the beginning of the season states, ‘This is my pitch’, and you don’t change it because of this or because of that,” he said.

“When these kinds of conditions are created, you allow people to be suspicious about why you manage the matches and why you take one team there and the other team there.”

Al Ahli booked their place against African champions Mamelodi Sundowns after beating Auckland City. The tie will decide the winner of the FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup.

Both teams are two matches away from a potential final against UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.