The 2026/27 campaign for Mamelodi Sundowns kicks off with a Friday night football clash against Polokwane City FC in the MTN8 quarterfinals at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
While top-flight football kicked off last weekend, for the Pretoria-based side, this weekend’s fixture serves as an opener and in familiar surroundings for the Yellow Nation as they contend for the first silverware of the season.
For their Polokwane opponents, the season kicked off last week with a league encounter where they picked up their first points of the season after winning it narrowly in a 2-1 victory against Richards Bay FC. Of course, they will look to continue with their perfect momentum early into the season, when they travel to Pretoria.
The Wafa Wafa cup was launched earlier this week and graced by defender, Aubrey Modiba, he looked ahead to what he deems an exciting fixture, one which they’ll reunite with the Masandawana faithful.
“Preparations have been going well. We know what to expect from Polokwane City. I remember meeting them in this competition two seasons ago and the match went to extra time, which is very telling on how strong they are as a team. We are not going into this game undermining their capabilities.”
“We know cup competitions are different from league games and anything can happen. So, for us is to just apply ourselves on the day and make sure to do well so we can advance to the next round. We are very much aware that it’s not going to be an easy fixture but we are looking forward to it,” he continued.
Bafana Ba Style last won the domestic cup in 2021 when they defeated Cape Town City via penalties and according to Modiba, they will head into this season’s campaign looking to end their four-year drought.
“To be honest we haven’t been doing well in local tournaments for the past four years. We have been losing finals and semifinals but this season we definitely want to do better than we did last season. So, hopefully this season we can be able to compete in the final of the competition and give ourselves a chance to lift the trophy. Hopefully winning the CAF Champions League will add a little bit of depth for us,” the defender said.
Mamelodi Sundowns will host Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinals on Saturday night at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. Kick-off has been scheduled for 18H00, live on SuperSport TV.
