Mamelodi Sundowns News Today: CAF bye beckons, Adams on how he revived career & more

Latest on Mamelodi Sundowns, including club Daniel ‘Mambush’ Mudau saluting Peter Shalulile as the Namibian closes in on his all-time PSL-era goalscoring record at Chloorkop, the Brazilians in line for a direct CAF Champions League group stage passage next season, and Jayden Adams on his career revival.

Mudau salutes Shalulile as record looms

Peter Shalulile is within touching distance of surpassing Daniel ‘Mambush’ Mudau’s landmark PSL-era goalscoring record at Mamelodi Sundowns, and the legendary former striker has offered warm words for the man closing in on his tally.

Mudau, whose 110 PSL-era goals for the Brazilians stood as the club’s benchmark for over two decades, has paid tribute to the 32-year-old Namibian whose name is now firmly in the same conversation.

Shalulile currently stands on 107 goals in Sundowns colours and needs just four more to surpass that mark, though his 2025/26 campaign was the least productive of his time at Chloorkop, yielding only six goals from 23 appearances.

It was the first season since his arrival at the club in 2020 that his returns failed to reach double figures, a significant drop from the 11, 15, 23, 30, 22, and 19 goals he managed in each of his previous campaigns.

Sundowns poised for Champions League boost

Mamelodi Sundowns are in line to receive a direct passage into the group stages of the 2026/27 CAF Champions League, bypassing the qualifying rounds entirely in recognition of their status at the top of the continental club rankings.

The proposal is still subject to approval by CAF authorities, but the groundwork for such a concession is well established, with South Africa sitting comfortably within the top four nations on the CAF association rankings that are each entitled to enter two clubs in continental competition.

Sundowns 👆poised for huge CAF Champions League benefit

Not only do Sundowns now rule club football in Africa, they also now sit top of the CAF 5-year ranking for the first time in history ahead of Al Ahly.

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The idea is not without precedent, with Esperance of Tunisia having been afforded the same privilege ahead of the 2018/19 CAF Champions League edition.

The prospect of skipping qualifying represents a meaningful logistical benefit for a club already facing an extraordinary calendar, with Sundowns also set to compete in the CAF Super Cup against USM Alger and in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Jayden Adams on what sparked career revival

Bafana Bafana midfielder Jayden Adams has spoken candidly about how his omission from Hugo Broos’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squad forced a period of deep personal reflection that ultimately reignited his career at both club and international level.

“To focus on myself, I went back home during that break,” Adams told journalists in Atlanta as per FARPost. “The AFCON squad [snub] disappointed me a bit, but I came back, reflected on where I was, and decided to give my all.”