๐ฃ๐ข ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐: "I still talk to Lucas Ribeiro and there's a feeling that he made the wrong decision by leaving Mamelodi Sundowns, we will invite him one day."
๐๏ธ Andile on Lucas Ribeiro and awaiting the tribunal decision on the case with Sundowns
๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐: SV Ried reach total agreement with Mamelodi Sundowns to sell midfielder Antonio Van Wyk. Undisclosed transfer fee for the 24yo. Medical done last week already - personal terms agreed - #contract - long term. ๐ as first called by @superjourno โ๏ธ
Full story ๐ https://t.co/m8qBlMtMH0 | #TransferNews ๐
I donโt have proof, but I believe South Africa was deliberately sabotaged for the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be the most-viewed opening event in television and streaming history.
After having visa issues and being stranded at OR Tambo International Airport, Bafana Bafana arrived in Mexico on 2 June, just nine days before their opening match on Thursday, a day after they were originally scheduled.
Nine days may seem reasonable, but according to sports scientists, this is the worst possible timeframe to arrive in South and Central America before a match.
The issue is that Bafana are hosting their training camp in Pachuca, where the 2400-metre altitude requires at least 14 days of physiological adaptation. At that height, athletes lose about 10% of their maximum oxygen consumption, also known as VO2 max.
To physically adapt to that deficit by stimulating the kidneys to naturally boost red blood cell counts takes a minimum of 14 to 21 days.
Now, itโs possible to arrive at such altitudes and still be fine. However, this requires arriving less than 36 hours before a match. This is the preferred method for single matches, frequently used by visiting teams playing a one-off game at Estadio Azteca, where the opening match will be played. They call this the โhit-and-runโ strategy.
The idea is that altitude fatigue and dehydration usually peak between days 2 and 5 after landing. By flying in the day before the match, playing, and immediately flying out, players compete before the acute physiological โcrashโ fully hits their systems.
However, if a team is playing a month-long tournament like the World Cup, they cannot rely on a hit-and-run. This is because it takes a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks at altitude for the kidneys to release enough erythropoietin to stimulate the bone marrow to produce a significantly higher red blood cell count, which permanently increases the bloodโs oxygen-carrying capacity.
By arriving 9 days before, Bafana players are not protected by the initial adrenaline of a hit-and-run, yet they havenโt spent enough time there to build up new red blood cells. They are trapped right at the peak window of sluggishness and poor sleep recovery.
The boys will walk onto the pitch at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, trapped right at the peak of their physiological crash, havenโt been there long enough to build the blood stamina required to survive 90 minutes of high-pressing football against a Mexican side perfectly tailored to the thin air of the central highlands.