Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Miguel Cardoso has questioned the venue change ahead of their Betway Premiership fixture against Chippa United on Saturday, saying it had disrupted their post-game logistics.
He said the moving of the encounter from the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha to the Buffalo City Stadium in KuGompo City meant they lost a day of rest in a busy schedule and would now have to travel instead.
He said flights for Saturday evening after the game and Sunday morning from the King Phalo Airport to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg could not be secured.
Cardoso said he had planned on giving his players two days off (Sunday and Monday) ahead of the African champions’ Fifa Intercontinental Cup game against Saudi Pro League giants Al Ahli next Saturday in Pretoria.
But since the team only leave KuGompo City at 5pm on Sunday, he now has to change their itinerary.
Chippa announced on Tuesday that the PSL had granted them permission for the venue swap after they had applied, their reasoning being the unavailability of the Gqeberha stadium due to it recently undergoing a surface change.
“The change of plans disrupts our preparation for the Intercontinental Cup completely,” Cardoso said on Wednesday after their 3-0 win over Siwelele.
“You know why, because we cannot travel on the same day back [to Gauteng].
“We can’t travel in the morning the day after as well. There were no seats available.
“Our flight is scheduled for Sunday at 5pm.
“So after the match we are going to stay there one more day [staring at each other’s faces].
“By allowing the venue change or not putting us at a venue where we can travel, we are not given the right conditions to prepare.
“Yes, the intercontinental game will be six days after the Chippa match, but I had planned to give my players two days’ rest and have four days to prepare,” he said.
By Wednesday, Cardoso said he had not informed his players about the rearrangement of training schedules for next week.
“The players think they will spend their Sunday with their families, but that’s not the case.
“The players that did not play won’t have a top-up training session as well,” he said.
Cardoso further questioned why the PSL allowed clubs to have multiple home grounds.
“I don’t understand why a club at the beginning of the season states, ‘This is my pitch, this is my pitch’.
“And you don’t change according to your interest, because of this, because of that.
“You don’t put one team on this pitch; you take another one to another pitch.
“When these kinds of conditions are created, you allow people to be suspicious about why you manage the venues and take one team here, the other one there; why do you do that?
“You go to Portugal, and there are two stadiums: Porto plays at its stadium, Benfica plays at their stadium, Sporting plays at their stadium, and the stadiums are always ready — rain, fungus, storms — they are always ready because people take care of those stadiums.
“And if we don’t move in that direction, suspicion can always be raised, not by me.
“But you are the one asking me that question, because you are also suspicious: why did this happen?” he told reporters.
The last time was in May 2025, when they secured the 2024/25 league title.
Cardoso said he had good memories of those celebrations but also recalled the state of the pitch back then.
“I hope we find a beautiful pitch there because I remember when we played that league match there, they had renewed the water system and the pitch was wobbly, not smooth.”