Mamelodi Sundowns F.C.

This article is about the men's football club. For the women's football club, see Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies F.C.

Mamelodi Sundowns
Full nameMamelodi Sundowns Football Club
Nickname(s)
  • Bafana ba Style
  • Masandawana
  • Ka bo Yellow
  • Shoe Shine and Piano
  • The Brazilians
Short name
  • Sundowns
  • SUN
  • MSD
Founded1970; 54 years ago (1970)
GroundLoftus Versfeld Stadium
Capacity51,762
OwnerPatrice Motsepe
ChairmanTlhopie Motsepe
Head coachManqoba Mngqithi
LeagueBetway Premiership
2023–241st (champions)
Websitehttps://sundownsfc.co.za/
Current season
Active departments of
Mamelodi Sundowns
Football (Men's) Football B (Men's)
Football (Women's) Football B (Women's)

Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football league system. Founded in the 1970s, the team plays its home games in the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

It is currently[when?] the most successful football club in the South African PSL era. They won the 2016 CAF Champions League, 2017 CAF Super Cup and were voted the 2016 CAF Club of the Year. Domestically, they have also won the Nedbank Cup six times, the MTN 8 four times and the Telkom Knockout four times. They are the first South African team to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup, where they finished in 6th place. In 2021, Sundowns became the first club in Africa to win both CAF Champions League and CAF Women's Champions League[1] titles. In 2023, Sundowns was crowned the champions of the first African Football League.

Sundowns is owned by South African business magnate Patrice Motsepe and is one of the most valuable clubs in Africa, by market value.[2] 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 Spanish Tiki-taka and Total Football. Over the years, this style of play has been reflected in its Youth teams and women's football team.

  1. ^ Diamond, Drew (16 November 2023). "South African club Mamelodi Sundowns to release Netflix documentary". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Most valuable football clubs in Africa as of the 2021/2022 season, by market value". mirror. 20 September 2021. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.