‘I was losing the love for football’: Thabiso Kutumela on Sundowns stay

Richards Bay FC attacker Thabiso Kutumela has candidly discussed his time at Mamelodi Sundowns, revealing that he began to lose his passion for football during his tenure at the club.

Kutumela parted ways with The Brazilians in the recently closed transfer window after struggling to secure regular playing time at the club.

Kutumela joined Sundowns from Maritzburg United in the 2021/22 season and spent two campaigns with the club. Despite making 38 appearances, scoring five goals, and providing six assists, he found it difficult to break into the Tshwane giants starting line-up.

In search of more playing time, Kutumela spent the last season on loan at Cape Town City FC. However, his spell at CT City was not successful, as he managed to score only three goals in 26 league matches.

THABISO KUTUMELA OPENS UP ON SUNDOWNS STRUGGLES

Kutumela has revealed that he was the one who requested to go out on loan to Cape Town City because he was losing interest in playing football due to a lack of game time at Downs.

“I was not disappointed to leave Sundowns because I was coming from loan, and I’m the one who requested for the loan move,” Kutumela told FARPost.

“My first season with Sundowns, I played, and we won MTN8, Nedbank Cup and the league. The following season I got injuries and the third season I told myself that I want to go on loan because it’s not nice to sit on the bench.

“I was starting to lose love and interest in football; I didn’t like that because I love football, and this is what I know. The best thing was just for me to go on loan.

“So when I saw that they’re releasing me, I thanked God and myself because imagine if I didn’t go on loan and sat on the bench for two seasons, it was going to be hard for me to get a team.

“For me, it was just a matter of planning for the future because some things you have to plan for yourself. Don’t just relax and say I have a contract without planning for the future.

“I was also looking at the fact that players who leave Sundowns after struggling for game-time, it becomes difficult to find a team because you are not match fit.”

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