What was once a rough diamond—now an African giant, Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club!

A love letter dedicated to the Mamelodi Sundowns 12^th player. Over the past decade we have witnessed Mamelodi Sundowns fans transforming into a beautifully united family that wins and losses with the team. A rare sight in the game, a spirit that is slowly spreading to other PSL clubs. This is a love story worth penning down.

 

By: Kgothatso Malepe

It’s only at Mamelodi Sundowns where you will see fans singing and dancing with the players even after tasting defeat in a crucial game like CAF Champions League (CCL) semi-final. That doesn’t mean they are not hurting over the loss but simply demonstrates how deep the bond and spirit of togetherness is between the players, technical team and the supporters.

This picture depicts the transformation that took place throughout the years

Now, let’s go down the memory lane, when Mamelodi Sundowns was trapped by the shackles of relegation. Allow me to talk about the man who understood that fans are the football club’s biggest clients, Pitso ‘Jingles’ Mosimane; the hero who picked up Mamelodi Sundowns as a gemstone that was stepped on repeatedly in the Premier Soccer League without being noticed and reconstructed it into Southern Africa Football Powerhouse that North African teams fear to be drawn with today.

Launch of Jingles corner at Soweto, coach Pitso's
home

Without taking anything away from the previous coaches, Pitso Mosimane became the first coach I witnessed protecting supporters with everything in him, acknowledging their presence, their efforts to support the club and making them to have a sense of belong within the club. Masandawana often say that there are no celebrities at Mamelodi Sundowns, and that is completely true, Jingles firmly instilled the culture of players interacting with fans like they are siblings, be it at the airport, stadium, the club’s events, and headquarters. Because these supporters sacrifice their family time, they spend their hard-earned money, they invest their emotions and the most precious commodity in life, their time, in this club. During the week they sometimes knock off from their respective workplaces and go straight to the stadium. That is something that should never go unnoticed and Pitso Mosimane embraced that, and it is now a culture that Sundowns coaches practice and I believe it will forever be embedded in the club.

Sundowns head coach posing for a picture
with fans

Mamelodi Sundowns fans personate the Sepedi proverb which reads “tau tša hloka seboka di šitwa ke nare e hlotša” (English translation: ‘United we stand, divided we fall’). I am saying this because they worked their way to owning every PSL stadium in South Africa, they may be 57, as they are often teased but those guys will sing their hearts out with their drumbeater beating the drum with his soul (May John Black’s soul rest in peace). They’ve proven beyond reasonable doubt that indeed quality is better than quantity. With that said, let me congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns Supporters Structures on the supporters branches that are continuously launched and relaunched week in and week out. The club’s fanbase it’s now one of the fastest growing fanbases in the country and you are contributing immensely towards that.

Sundowns fans with the league trophy and at the
stadium

All the abovementioned shows that indeed Rome is not built in one-day, it took a lot of effort, time, fulfilled and broken promises, pain, patience, finances, trust, faith, consistency and unity to have Mamelodi Sundowns being an African giant that it is in the present day and having supporters that are nationally admired for their persevering spirit. When chanting and singing on the stands they would say “ke setshaba sa Masandawana, akeke sa fela maatla” (The yellow nation will never give up). 

Mamelodi Sundowns Supporters Structures National Office Bearers

Masandawana, this piece is a brief appreciation for all your achievements in the past decade, highlighting; a women’s team that became the invisibles of the inaugural SAFA Women’s League, now known as the Hollywoodbets Super League, Inaugural CAF Women’s Champions league victors and winning the title again in 2023—runners-up in 2022. "A bunch of winners", coach Jerry would say.

Sundowns fans celebrating the CCL victory
with Ladies team at the airport

The senior team has also firmly positioned itself both locally and continentally; CCL champions 2016, CAF Super cup 2017, and winning the DSTV Premiership seven consecutive times, the inaugural African Football League, and for bringing home the MTN 8 trophy for the first time since the competition changed from SAA Super 8 to the current sponsor, this means a lot to the fans. Trust me, I know you do win the games from the stands, I have experienced that, and without you, the club wouldn’t be complete.