Departing Mamelodi Sundowns star attacker Cassius Mailula has revealed the great advice he received from club legend Godfrey Sapula that changed his mentality for good.
Sapula is also the head coach of Gauteng ABC Motsepe League side M Tigers FC, a feeder team for the 2016 CAF Champions League winners.
This is where Mailula spent two seasons before he was recalled to the Masandawana senior team. The 49-year-old Sapula was also instrumental in recruiting Mailula to the Sundowns Academy from the Limpopo Sports School of Excellence in 2026.
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Mailula is now set for a big move to Major League Soccer in the USA, with Toronto FC reportedly his next destination.
“For me to go to the ABC Motsepe League was actually good,” said Mailua.
“The coach that helped me to see this as an opportunity for growth is coach Godfrey [Sapula]. He is the one that actually brought me to the club also. Sapula is one person that actually believed in me and saw the talent in me.”
GODFREY SAPULA’S ADVICE THAT SHAPED CASSIUS MAILULA
“He [Sapula] told me that you might not be doing well there in the first team because it is tough, ‘come here and work hard and grow from what you experienced from the DStv Diski Challenge team’,” explained Mailula.
“I think it has shaped me into the person that I am and the player that I am. It has shown me that I have to have a lot of strong character and humility to respect the game. Because it’s not easy, It’s tough. Going there [at M Tigers] was actually a great opportunity for me because I was able to understand everything.
“Things that are happening in the ABC, it’s not easy, it’s actually a tough league. To play two seasons has actually helped me a lot. I will always be grateful to coach Godfrey for helping bring confidence in myself and to tell me that it doesn’t matter which league I am playing at.”
Mailula has not joined Sundowns on their pre-season trip to the Netherlands. He is expected to depart for the US in the next few days to conclude his move.
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