Mamelodi Sundowns defender Keanu Cupido has moved to ease growing concerns over player fatigue ahead of the 2025/26 Premier Soccer League season, following the club’s intense pre-season schedule that included participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The Brazilians, who are chasing a historic ninth consecutive league title, returned recently from a high-profile tour in the United States, where they faced elite opposition in Ulsan HD, Borussia Dortmund, and Fluminense.
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Their performances drew praise, but the lack of a proper off-season break has sparked debate about whether the squad can maintain its usual high standards across multiple competitions.
First up is an appointment with a Richards Bay side that snuck into the top eight on the final day of last season, in their MTN8 quarter-final on Sunday.
Cupido, who featured in 21 games in all competitions in his first season with Downs following the switch from Cape Town City, is, however, confident in the players’ ability to deal with the potential stresses of fatigue.
He said in the Citizen: “We feel like we need to take care of our bodies as players first and then the team will come into it.
“We need to do our recoveries and nutrition is also very important in terms of food that we eat as players. Those are small details that separate professional players from football players. I think a few seasons ago, Mamelodi Sundowns went that direction although I wasn’t here.
“You can see the change in players like Tebza (Teboho Mokoena), he played so many games but it doesn’t get to a point where you’ll see that. They’ve always been consistent in their performances as well. So at Sundowns, most players are used to it.”