The flag bearers of Mzansi football, Mamelodi Sundowns, have ascended to the final of the inaugural African Football League (AFL), continuing their rise to being the best club the country has seen in recent years.
The Tshwane giants’ journey throughout the tournament has not been smooth, having faced challenges that included pushbacks from the Premier Soccer League’s (PSL) board of governors, headed by chairman Irvin Khoza, before the start.
Nevertheless, the Brazilians have overcome every hurdle put in their way so far.
Rulani Mokwena’s charges have vindicated the decision by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to handpick them as Mzansi’s representatives in the competition, ahead of traditional giants, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Sunday World takes a closer look into Sundowns’ journey to the final of the AFL in search of the whopping R76-million prize money awaiting the victor this afternoon.
The journey:
Sundowns are currently involved in the final of the inaugural tournament against Moroccan giants Wydad Athletic but getting there was no easy task for them. Of course, they did make easy work of Angolan side Petro de Luanda in the quarterfinals with a comfortable 2-0 win on aggregate, but their next encounter was anything but easy.
They faced rivals Al Ahly in the semifinals, where they were made to sweat but eventually held on to a narrow 1-0 aggregate win having done the job at home.
Downs have started the final on a negative note, going down 2-1 away from home in Casablanca and they now have it all to do this afternoon at home.
Mokwena, though, will be confident that his side can turn things around at home in front of their home support and engrave their name in the history books.
Sundowns’ PSL campaign on hold:
Sundowns have had to put their domestic campaign on hold to partake in the AFL, with their last DStv Premiership match being a 3-1 win over Stellenbosch FC way back in September.
The Brazilians have not played a single PSL match in six weeks but they have been so dominant that none of the teams has been able to catch them or overtake them on the log table.
They are not expected to resume their domestic campaign immediately after the AFL as they will have to turn their attention to another continental competition, the Caf Champions League.
Depleted squad or not:
Although Sundowns have arguably the most star studded team that is well equipped for continental duty, injuries have not been kind to them lately.
And despite the quality of their squad, the absence of their key players such as the deadly Peter Shalulile, Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Thapelo Morena, Sipho Mbule and
Bathusi Aubaas, has been felt.
However, a player like Gaston Sirino, was able to revive his career after he fell out of favour with the club officials. That they have managed to make it this far is testament to the quality they possess in their overall squad they have assembled this season.
More on the AFL:
The hugely lucrative competition was launched in August last year, initially as the African Super League, with Caf president Patrice Motsepe central to its birth.
The new tournament is the richest club competition in African football and consists of the best eight teams on the continent as the inaugural participants.
Caf, however, have plans to expand the number of the competitors to 24 teams next year with the addition of 16 more teams based on the Caf 5-Year Ranking.
The AFL comes with a financial windfall for all the clubs that are involved, with the prize money set at R76-million for the winners.
The runners-up will also be laughing all the way to the bank with R57-million, while semifinalists get R32-million.
