Mailula's Agent Discusses Toronto Struggles

Cassius Mailula’s agent, Karabo Mathang-Tshabuse, attributed several factors to the striker's difficulties at Toronto FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). Mailula, aged 25, re-joined Mamelodi Sundowns at the start of the current season after a mutual parting with Toronto midway through the MLS season due to limited game time since joining the club in 2023.

In the previous two years, Toronto loaned the Limpopo-born forward to Wydad AC in the Botola League and Kortrijk in Belgium. Since returning to the Betway Premiership, Mailula has scored three goals in four matches across two competitions.

Mathang-Tshabuse explained on Sport Night Amplified that Mailula did not align with the coach’s plans in America. She expressed humility in admitting that they could have made different decisions.

"To be honest, I think it’s not one answer that will fit this puzzle; it’s layered and it’s nuanced," said Mathang-Tshabuse. "Toronto’s recruiting department wanted him, but it did not translate into the coaching department. This can sometimes be an issue, even locally, when you hear he’s the ‘chairman’s boy’ or the ‘coach’s boy’. There was a bit of that struggle, along with Mailula's temperament.

As a player, he’s shorter and stockier, and he plays differently. He’s the one you find in the box to tap in, a tap-in specialist, while in Toronto, the expectation was more about running in and out from defense to the final third.

"Perhaps we were too quick to sign because the technical team saw him as their number one without really engineering a plan that could have allowed him a loan before returning. I’m humble enough to admit we should have explored that option, but I do not regret the choice.

We’ve had discussions on this; we don’t look back with regret on the move due to what it produced, but there’s always that desire to consider how things might have been different. It’s not so much about regretting the move; it’s about tempering the experience so he could have returned sooner or gone to Wydad earlier.

Mailula enjoyed a phenomenal time at Wydad with Thembinkosi Lorch, and overall, although we feel no regret, there are always lessons learned."