 | ||||
| Full name | Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames |
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| Short name |
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| Founded | 1970; 55 years ago (1970) | |||
| Ground | Loftus Versfeld Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 51,762 | |||
| Owner | Patrice Motsepe | |||
| Chairman | Tlhopie Motsepe | |||
| Head coach | Miguel Cardoso[1] | |||
| League | South African Premiership | |||
| 2025–26 | South African Premiership, 1st of 16 (champions) | |||
| Website | sundownsfc | |||
 Current season | ||||
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as theSundowns) is a South African professionalfootball club based inMamelodi,Pretoria,Gauteng that plays in thePremiership, the first tier of South African football league system. Founded in the 1970s, they play their home games in theLoftus Versfeld Stadium.
As of 2025, the Sundowns are the most successful football club in the South AfricanPSL with 15 league titles, amounting to a record 18 in total.[2] Domestically, they have also won theNedbank Cup six times, theMTN 8 four times and theTelkom Knockout four times.
They won the 2016CAF Champions League, 2017CAF Super Cup and were voted the 2016 CAF Club of the Year.[3] They are the first South African team to compete in theFIFA Club World Cup, where they finished in 6th place. In 2021, Sundowns became the first club in Africa to win bothCAF Champions League andCAF Women's Champions League[4] titles. In 2023, Sundowns was crowned champions of the inauguralAfrican Football League.[5]
Sundowns is owned by South African business magnatePatrice Motsepe and is one of the most valuable clubs in Africa, with a market value of €29 million as of the 2023-24 season.[6] The club takes pride in its unique style of attacking play, locally dubbed "Shoe Shine & Piano" which includes combinations of quick, short passes on the ground and this is likened to the SpanishTiki-taka and Total Football. Over the years, this style of play has been reflected in its youth teams andwomen's football team.
Sundowns Football Club originated aroundMarabastad, a cosmopolitan area north west of thePretoria CBD in the early sixties, where it was formed by a group of youngsters residing in the area. The club mentions individuals such as Frank "ABC" Motsepe, Roy Fischer, Ingle Singh andBernard Hartze and as part of its founding young stars.[7] The newly established team was named Marabastad Sundowns after an amateur club called Sundowns, which existed in the 1940s, also formed in Marabastad.[8]
In 1969, Ingle "Jinx" Sigh, one of the founding players for Sundowns and later owner of both Marabastad Sundowns and Pretoria City (which later becameSuperSport United F.C.),[9] decided to sell the club to Dr. Bonny Sebotsane, Dr. Motsiri Itsweng and philanthropist Joseph Ntshimane "Fish" Kekana. The club was moved to the nearby township ofMamelodi and was officially established and renamed as Mamelodi Sundowns in 1970.[10]
The club was affiliated with theFederation Professional Football League in 1973 and in the same year reached the finals of the Coca-Cola Cup, where they played againstBerea United and lost 5–3.
In 1978, Sundowns joined theNational Professional Soccer League after the merger of theNational Football League and the previous iteration of theNational Professional Soccer League. This meant Sundowns played in the second division of the new league.For five years 'Downs battled to gain promotion and managed to earn its place in theNPSL in 1983, but in their first season in top-flight football, they found the going difficult. During that period, Sundowns' management resolved to disband the club, until new ownerZola Mahobe came on board in 1985.[7]
In the same year, 1985, South African football was the first sport in the country to become non-racial and theNational Soccer League was formed, incorporating the top clubs in the country, including Sundowns. Dave Barber was in charge at the start of the newNational Soccer League era but his tenure came to a swift end after the club found itself at the foot of the table and Zola Mahobe appointed Walter da Silver. Da Silver later quit after 5 games before the end of the season, claiming that Mahobe was interfering in team selection.[11]
Zola Mahobe appointed Ben Segale as the coach, and the team ended the 1985 season in a flourish by winning the last 4 games to finish 11th place, which was a big improvement on their previous two top flight seasons. Under Mahobe, Sundowns fortunes changed for the better as they began to challenge for top honours in the domestic league. The big spending Sundowns boss recruited the services of elite South African footballers on a quest for supremacy, and changed their kit to resemble that of theBrazilian national team, earning them their nickname, "the Brazilians".[12]
Mahobe went to Soweto to acquire the services of the highly rated coachStanley "Screamer" Tshabalala, who was assisting Blackpool at the time, to lead the ambitious Sundowns team. Under the tutelage ofScreamer Tshabalala, Sundowns played an entertaining and effective brand of football which became known as "The Shoe Shine and Piano." By the end of 1986, the club had won theMainstay cup in a 1-0 brawl againstJomo Cosmos inEllis Park and goalkeeper,Mark Anderson was voted Footballer of the Year as new players kept arriving. The next season, they finished third in the league, just three points behind champions Cosmos.
Sundowns were flying in 1988, with a victory against cross-town rivalsArcadia in the final ofBP Top Eight Cup, and then later beating them again for the Ohlsson's Challenge Cup.[13] Despite winning two trophies that year, trouble was brewing in the camp when players, led byAnderson demanded the resignation of coach Tshabalala and his assistant Trot Moloto. Stan resigned from his position, with a record of 54 wins, 29 draws and 25 losses. Captain, Mike Ntombela took charge over the club for four games while the management looked for a coach.[11]
In the same year, the ownership of the club fell into the hands of Standard Bank, which repossessed the club fromZola Mahobe after his conviction for fraud.[14] The club went into liquidation and the football family Angelo andNatasha Tsichlas spoke to the bank and saved the club. They then formed a company withKrok brothers and bought 100% of the club.
Chilean coach,Mario Tuane and his assistant Angelo Tsichlas took charge of a club at the top of the table and led it to its first league championship. There were rapturous celebrations atHM Pitje Stadium after Sundowns gained an unassailable point lead over Cosmos. However, the club could not defend the Ohlsson's challenge and BP Top Eight crowns and the Tuane era came to an end, with Angelo Tsichlas taking charge of the team as a caretaker coach until the club appointedTrott Moloto, and shortly afterStan Lapot. In the '89 season, Sundowns went on a 7-game unbeaten run in the league, but could only win one of their last 6 matches in the league, which ended the club's season at position 5.
This prompted the return ofStan Tshabalala, who took the team to the top of the table again in 1990. Sundowns only lost 2 league games during the campaign and won its first treble, managing to win theTop Eight Cup and theJPS Knockout Cup againstOrlando Pirates with a 2–1 scoreline in the final.
This success was followed by a season of heartbreaking losses in 1991, with the team finishing second place in the league and failing to get into any cup final. 1992 was similar underAugusto Palacios, when Sundowns lost both the Top Eight cup and Castle Challenge to rivalsKaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates respectively, finishing 6th in the league.
Jeff Butler was appointed as the coach in 1993 after being turfed in a dispute withBafana Bafana. He led the club to a 3rd league title win in a close 3 point race against Moroka Swallows and a 4th place league finish in the following year. Sundowns qualified for a continental title for the first time in the 1994African Cup of Champions Clubs but lost toAS Vita Club in the second round.
TheNational Soccer League was replaced by thePremiership, administered by thePremier Soccer League, for the 1996–97 season. After a flurry of coaches and players came, went, and a third Stan Tshabalala stint in unsuccessful '96 and '97 campaigns, Sundowns signedRaphael Chukwu from Nigerian club,Shooting Stars S.C. and appointedTed Dumitru as head coach in July 1997. Raphael's partnership withDaniel Mudau proved to be prolific in front of posts.[15] Backed up by a super team of standout players such as Joel Masilela,Alex Bapela,Isaac Shai,Roger Feutmba and goalkeeperJohn Tlale amongst others, Sundowns went on to win three consecutive league titles from 1998 to 2000 as well as beingBob Save Super Bowl winners in 1998 andRothmans Cup winners in 1999.
In 2001, Sundowns focused their efforts on continental glory and became only the second South African team to reach the prestigiousCAF Champions League Final when they defeated Petro Atlético in the semifinals. The club played the2001 CAF Champions League Final where they were defeated 4–1 on aggregate by Egyptian clubAl Ahly.
The club underwent a period of rebuilding after the 1999/2000 season, enduring a period of bad performances in league and cup matches. Sundowns finished 3rd in the2001/02 season, 10th in the2002/03 season, 5th in the2003/04 season and again 3rd in the2004/05 season.
In 2004, mining magnatePatrice Motsepe bought a 51% share in the club and later took total control of the club by buying the remaining shares, thus becoming the sole owner and shareholder of the club. Under their new owner, Sundowns picked up their first piece of silverware for six years in May 2006 when co-coachesMiguel Gamondi andNeil Tovey oversaw Sundowns' triumph in the PSL, the seventh league title in their history.
After a slow start to the 2006–07 season, Gamondi and Tovey were relieved of their positions, andGordon Igesund took over as head coach. Under Igesund, Sundowns defended their title in emphatic style, running away with the trophy. They failed to win the 'double', losing toAjax Cape Town in the2007 ABSA Cup final.
In 2009 the club hired formerBallon d'Or winnerHristo Stoichkov as their coach. A stuttering start to the 2009–10 season saw an impressive run through the second half of the season which propelled the club to second position in the final league standings. The club nevertheless parted ways with their coach after one season.
In the 2010–11 season,Antonio Lopez Habas, who was the assistant coach under Stoichkov, took over the reins of the senior team. Sundowns made its best ever start to a League season and topped the league standings at the end of the first round. The second round of the league proved more competitive and Sundowns were in the hunt for the league title until the second last match. Habas resigned in February, citing personal reasons and went back to Spain. Assistant coachIan Gorowa was appointed as interim head coach.
In 2011, highly rated Dutch tacticianJohan Neeskens was appointed as the coach of Sundowns in a bid to awaken the sleeping giant that hadn't won silverware since winning the 2008 Nedbank cup. The Dutch-born coach gave a number of young players from the development team opportunities to impress in the senior team. Even though the Dutch mentor made the team play free-flowing and an entertaining brand of football, his failure to capture silverware led to his demise. On 4 March 2012, under the leadership of Neeskens, the team set a remarkable South African record in theNedbank Cup when they beatPowerlines by a score of 24–0.[16][17] The club went on to lose the2012 Nedbank Cup final 2–1 to Tshwane rivalsSupersport United. His coaching stint at Chloorkop was short-lived as the impatient and demanding Sundowns supporters exerted pressure to the management to sack him. When the team failed to win the2012 Telkom Knockout final againstBloemfontein Celtic, Neeskens was sacked as head coach of the Tshwane-based side with the team languishing in the relegation zone.
On 2 December 2012, Pitso Mosimane took over as head coach and guided a turbulent Sundowns season to 9th place in the league. The2013/14 season began on a better note, with a 6-game unbeaten streak including a 7-1 thumping of AmaZulu F.C. at home. However, in the mid-season, team performances became inconsistent and Sundowns found itself 11 points behind log leadersKaizer Chiefs. There was still positivity in the camp however, and Mosimane was confident about a good end to the season. On 9 March 2014, Sundowns began an 11-game unbeaten streak that would end in an emphatic league title win after a 6-year trophy drought.[18]
The acquisition ofKhama Billiat in August 2013,Keagan Dolly andLeonardo Castro in the2014/15 season bolstered the Sundowns attacking order that was backed byHlompho Kekana,Samuel Mabunda,Themba Zwane,Teko Modise and academy wonderPercy Tau. The team finished 2nd in the league in the 2014 season, but won both theNedbank Cup andTelkom Knockout. This would begin an era dominance in the league and Sundowns won the 2015/2016, 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 league titles on the trot.2015/16 was a record breaking season, which saw Sundowns become the first team to break the 70 point ceiling in the league since the South African top flight league became a 16-team league system.
In 2017, Mosimane oversaw Sundowns' first CAF Champions League win, which was the goal of owner Patrice Motsepe when he bought the club in 2004. Sundowns were eliminated in the preliminary rounds of the2016 CAF Champions League, but were placed back in the competition afterCongolese teamVita Club were disqualified from the competition for fielding a suspended player.[19] In their journey for gold, Sundowns opened their campaign with an annulled 2–0 win againstAlgeria'sES Setif courtesy ofMabunda andKhama Billiat goals.
On 26 June 2016, they facedNigeria clubEnyimba International F.C. atLucas Moripe Stadium. They defeated the Nigerians 2–1 with goals fromLeonardo Castro andWayne Arendse in the 42nd and 78th minutes, respectively. Their good form continued to Egypt, defeating Egyptian clubZamalek SC with a goal from Mabunda in the 17th minute, followed by anIbrahim leveller in the 36th minute, prevailing with a 66th-minute goal from their star playerKhama Billiat, which ended the match in favour of the Brazilians 2–1. They repeated this in the 2nd leg by beating the Egyptian club 1–0 with anown goal fromAli Gabr in the 79th minute. The win assured 'Downs a place in the semifinals, but they needed to end their group stage campaign on a high away against Enyimba. Playing with young players, 'Downs succumbed to their first defeat by 3–1 on a rainy slippery field.
In the semifinals, they faced Zambian teamZESCO United at theLevy Mwanawasa Stadium, where they lost to quick succession goals just a minute apart in the 54th and 56th minutes from Mwanza. Billiat netted a goal in the 86th minute to bring the score to 2–1, leaving 'Downs with much to do in the second leg. In the second leg, 'Downs did what was needed of them by winning the match 2–0, thanks to a goal from LiberianAnthony Laffor in the 5th minute and the youngPercy Tau in the 64th minute. Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. reached the final of the competition for the first time since the2001 CAF Champions League final (where they lost toAl Ahly SC). They also reached the 4th final for South African clubs (1 win and 2 losses).
In the final, they beat Egypt'sZamalek SC 3–1 on aggregate, claiming their first-ever continental title and becoming only the second South African team to be crowned champions of Africa, afterOrlando Pirates.[19]
Sundowns went on to win the2017 CAF Super Cup inLoftus Versfeld Stadium by defeatingTP Mazembe from the DRC in the same season.[20] The club made the bold signings ofGaston Sirino fromBolivar and an ailingRivaldo Coetzee in 2018. Despite losing a number of valuable players in the previous season, the club maintained good performances in domestic cups, winning a domestic treble (league,Telkom Knockout andNedbank Cup) in the2018/19 season.
In 2020, the team underwent changes in coaching personnel for the first time in almost 7 years and an influx of new players after the departure of Pitso Mosimane. The club appointed former assistant coaches,Rhulani Mokwena andManqoba Mngqithi as joint Head Coaches with the opinion of Manqoba Mngithi prevailing when there isn't consensus.[21] The club's board was keen on appointing South African coaches, and later appointedSteve Komphela as a senior coach to assist the coaching pair. The trio saw off a season which saw the rise of new top scoring marksman,Peter Shalulile and standout signings such asNeo Maema,Rushine De Reuck amongst many others. The club celebrated a successful 5th consecutive league win and aNedbank Cup which showed that the club was heading in a good direction.
2021/22 was another record breaking league season played under Covid restrictions.
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Premiership /National Soccer League | 18 | Winners (18):1988,1989–90,1992–93,1997–98,1998–99,1999–2000,2005–06,2006–07,2013–14,2015–16,2017–18,2018–19,2019–20,2020–21,2021–22,2022–23,2023–24,2024–25 |
| Bob Save Superbowl/Nedbank Cup | 6 | Winners (6): 1986,1998,2008,2014–15,2019–20,2021–22 | |
| Telkom Knockout/Carling Knockout | 4 | Winners (4): 1990, 1999,2015,2019 | |
| MTN 8 | 4 | Winners (4): 1988, 1990,2007,2021 | |
| African | CAF Champions League | 1 | Winners (1):2016 |
| CAF Super Cup | 1 | Winners (1):2017 | |
| African Football League | 1 | Winners (1):2023 |
Shell Helix Cup
Ohlsson's Challenge Cup
NB: South African football clubs started participating inCAF Competitions in 1993, after 16 years of being banned fromFIFA due to the apartheid system. The ban extended from 1976 to 1992.
The club has 1 appearance inAfrican Cup of Champions Clubs 1994 and 16 appearances inCAF Champions League from 1999 until now. It has also recorded the biggest victory in theCAF Champions League by defeating Seychelles sideCôte d'Or, 11–1 at home and 16–1 on aggregate in the first round of the 2019–2020 season.[23]
| Year | Best finish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAF Confederation Cup | CAF Super Cup | ||||||
| 2007 | Group Stage | DNQ | |||||
| 2008 | Play-offs | DNQ | |||||
| 2009 | Second Round | DNQ | |||||
| 2016 | Play-offs | DNQ | |||||
| 2017 | DNQ | Champion | |||||
| Year | Best finish | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAF Cup | African Cup winners' Cup | ||||||
| 1996 | Second Round | DNQ | |||||
| 1998 | DNQ | Second Round | |||||
| 2003 | Second Round | DNQ | |||||
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAF Cup | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 7 |
| African Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| CAF Champions League | 200 | 57 | 28 | 26 | 175 | 96 |
| CAF Confederation Cup | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 25 | 24 |
| CAF Super Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 140 | 71 | 32 | 37 | 220 | 130 |
The club ranking is used for seeding in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup. Pending equality in ranking points, the team receiving more points in the previous season is considered as the higher-ranked team.
The club ranking for the2024–25 CAF Champions League and the2024–25 CAF Confederation Cup is be based on results from each CAF club competition from the 2019–20 to the 2023–24 seasons.
| Rank | Club | 2019–20 (× 1) | 2020–21 (× 2) | 2021–22 (× 3) | 2022–23 (× 4) | 2023–24 (× 5) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Al Ahly | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 87 |
| 2 |  Espérance de Tunis | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 61 |
| 3 |  Wydad | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 60 |
| 4 |  Mamelodi Sundowns | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 54 |
Lucas Costa Ribeiro says the club inflated transfer price to spite him.[25][26]
Mamelodi was the first football club from Southern Africa to representCAF inFIFA Club World Cup, following their2016 CAF Champions League success. Sundowns participated in theFIFA Club World Cup 2025 tournament in the United States. On 17 June 2025 Sundowns secured their first ever win in the FIFA Club World Cup when they beatSouth Korea’sUlsan HD where strikerIqraam Rayners found the back of the net.[27][28] It was also a first victory for an African side at the tournament in the US after Egypt’sAl Ahly drew their opening match againstInter Miami.[29]
| Year | Finish | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6th place | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | -5 | 0 |
| Type | Nat | Name | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most trophies won – Player |  | Kennedy Mweene | 12 |
| Most Trophies Won – Coach | | Pitso Mosimane | 11 |
| Most starts | | Daniel Mudau | 390 |
| Most goals | | Daniel Mudau | 172 |
| Most capped player | | Ronwen Williams | 50 |
| Most starts in a season | | Themba Mnguni | 48 (1997–98) |
| Most goals in a season | | Bennett Masinga | 33 (1990) |
| Record victory | | vsPowerlines | 24–0 (4 March 2012,Nedbank Cup) |
| Inter-record victory | | vsAl Ahly | 5–0 (6 April 2019,CAF Champions League) |
| Record defeat |  | vsAfrica Sports | 1–6 (4 November 2000,CAF Champions League) |
Source:[30]
| Season | Pos | Record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |||
| 1996–97 | 6th | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 35 | 30 | 5 | 50 | |
| 1997–98 | Champions | 34 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 48 | 25 | 23 | 68 | |
| 1998–99 | Champions | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 70 | 26 | 44 | 75 | |
| 1999–00 | Champions | 34 | 23 | 6 | 5 | 68 | 34 | 34 | 75 | |
| 2000–01 | 3rd | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 58 | 32 | 26 | 59 | |
| 2001–02 | 5th | 34 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 47 | 32 | 15 | 56 | |
| 2002–03 | 10th | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 39 | |
| 2003–04 | 10th | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 36 | |
| 2004–05 | 3rd | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 54 | 28 | 26 | 56 | |
| 2005–06 | Champions | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 45 | 19 | 26 | 57 | |
| 2006–07 | Champions | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 45 | 17 | 28 | 61 | |
| 2007–08 | 4th | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 40 | 35 | 5 | 47 | |
| 2008–09 | 9th | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 40 | |
| 2009–10 | 2nd | 30 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 43 | 23 | 20 | 56 | |
| 2010–11 | 4th | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 52 | 28 | 24 | 58 | |
| 2011–12 | 4th | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 44 | 23 | 21 | 52 | |
| 2012–13 | 9th | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 31 | 27 | 4 | 39 | |
| 2013–14 | Champions | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 51 | 25 | 26 | 65 | |
| 2014–15 | 2nd | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 24 | 20 | 57 | |
| 2015–16 | Champions | 30 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 55 | 20 | 35 | 71 | |
| 2016–17 | 2nd | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 52 | 20 | 32 | 57 | |
| 2017–18 | Champions | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 49 | 24 | 25 | 60 | |
| 2018–19 | Champions | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 40 | 24 | 16 | 59 | |
| 2019–20 | Champions | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 43 | 22 | 21 | 59 | |
| 2020–21 | Champions | 30 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 49 | 14 | 35 | 67 | |
| 2021–22 | Champions | 30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 56 | 20 | 36 | 65 | |
| 2022–23 | Champions | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 52 | 13 | 39 | 70 | |
| 2023–24 | Champions | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 51 | 10 | 41 | 73 | |
Source:[31]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
| Period | Nat | Shirt sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–1996 |  Puma | ||
| 1996–2002 | Adidas | Disprin | |
| 2002–2008 |  Diadora | MTN | |
| 2008–2016 |  Nike | Ubuntu-Botho Investments | |
| 2016–present | Puma[33] |  Hyundai[34] |
| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
