Cupido: Bafana Bafana defender signs new Cape Town City deal

Cape Town City have announced Bafana Bafana defender Keanu Cupido has signed a new contract.

The promising centre back has struggled for game time this season under Citizens' Dutch coach Jan Olde Riekerink.

However, the Mother City side has decided to extend his contract with the current season having been suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic since last March.

City released the following statement on the club's Twitter account on Wednesday morning.

"The club is delighted to confirm that we have taken up the option to extend rising star Keanu Cupido’s contract until June 2022," a statement read.

The 22-year-old becomes the third City player to renew his contract with the Citizens since the season was halted by the deadly virus.

Mpho Makola and Bradley Ralani have also inked new deals with the Western Cape-based side in recent weeks.

Cupido has made only eight appearances in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) this season and hit the back of the net once with the goal coming in a 2-2 draw against Baroka FC last August.

The Soweto-born player has also featured in two cup matches as the Citizens were eliminated from the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup by Polokwane City, and Mbombela United respectively.

Cupido played a key role in helping City clinch the 2018 MTN8 in his debut season (2018/19) with the team after joining the club from French Ligue 2 outfit AC Ajaccio.

His solitary goal against Maritzburg United in the quarter-finals helped City secure a 1-0 win and they reached the semi-finals where they stunned Mamelodi Sundowns, before beating SuperSport United in the final.

The tough-tackling player's exploits did not go unnoticed as he was included in the Bafana Bafana squad which participated in the 2019 Cosafa Cup.

Cupido also helped South Africa qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games after they finished third at the 2019 Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Egypt.

South Africa under-23 head coach David Notoane then included Cupido in the squad of 78 provisional players to take part in the Olympic Games which were set to be held from July 24 to August 9, 2020.

However, the Games were rescheduled for July 23 to August 8, 2021, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.