An African football administrator has blamed this year's congested competitions faced by Mamelodi Sundowns and other African teams, insisting that it played a huge role in their failure at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
South African giants, Al Ahly of Egypt, Wydad Athletic Club from Morocco, and Tunisian outfit Esperance de Tunis, all failed to advance to the Round of 16 in the prestigious tournament.
READ | African giants 'interested' in Downs' Cardoso
The four African giants entered the tournament just weeks after wrapping up their domestic seasons and fulfilling their CAF Champions League commitments, leaving little time for rest or preparation.
Of the four teams, only Sundowns and Esperance managed to record a single group stage win. Wydad lost all their matches, while Al Ahly could only manage two draws.
More so, some of the African giants faced European heavyweights such as Manchester City and Juventus, highlighting the high level of competition.
Following the early exits, FIFPRO Africa General Secretary Kgosana Masaseng attributed the disappointing performances to player fatigue.
"You are talking about teams that have just completed their domestic leagues, who were playing continental club championships," Kgosana said, according to The Guardian.
"Players were also representing their national teams. So the schedule has been demanding. It has taken a toll and, now, there’s no break, it’s straight away into another competition."
The Botswana-born football administrator also pointed to the ongoing challenges of lack of infrastructure across many African nations.
"Largely, our leagues are very poor, that’s for starters, second, they don’t even have infrastructure, I would love to see them working on gently, is capacity building," he added.
READ | Wydad 'make decision' on Rulani's successor
"That’s the first step, looking at the legal frameworks that govern the game and asking: ‘Are we all in line?’ Once we are all aligned, then we can talk about the next phase, which is to professionalise.
"Then we can look at the next phase, which is to grow the kids and grow football. But now there are small pockets of good progress and the rest are not joining. It’s not coordinated, which makes it difficult to sell the product."
Photo: Mamelodi Sundowns
Bet now with Mzansibet to claim your R100 bonus bet!
