Downs out to stretch trophy haul

Mamelodi Sundowns seek to become only the second South African club to win the African Super Cup, 21 years since Orlando Pirates clinched it.

Sundowns host TP Mazembe Englebert in the one-off match at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria tomorrow, hoping to add the silverware to the African Champions League crown they garnered in October.

They are the third South African side to play in the match after Pirates (winners in 1996 against JS Kabylie of Algeria) and Kaizer Chiefs, who got clobbered 4-1 by Al Ahly of Egypt in Cairo in 2002.

The Super Cup started off being played at a neutral venue, including Johannesburg in 1994, but poor crowds saw it changed to being played at the home ground of the Champions League winners against the victors of the continent's other trophy, the African Confederation Cup.

Home advantage has meant that the result usually goes the way of the Champions League winners, putting pressure on Sundowns not to break the sequence.

The match will be the 25th edition of the competition and only three times before have the Champions League winners been upset.

It happened in the first-ever Super Cup in 1993, when Africa Sports of the Ivory Coast edged Wydad Casablanca of Morocco.

In 1998 Etoile Sahel of Tunisia upset Raja Casablanca on penalties in Casablanca, and in 2012 Maghreb Fez got some revenge for Morocco when they took Esperance to penalties in Tunis and won the shootout.

The match no longer goes to extra time. It is straight to penalties if the teams are deadlocked after 90 minutes.

There is R1.3-million on offer for the winners and R980000 for the runners-up. Past African Super Cup matches since the trophy was introduced in 1993:

1993 (Abidjan) Africa Sports (Ivory Coast) beat Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) 5-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw (after extra time)

1994 (Johannesburg) Zamalek (Egypt) beat Al Ahiy (Egypt) 1-0

1995 (Alexandria) Esperance (Tunisia) beat Daring Club Motema Pembe (Democratic Republic of Congo) 3-0

1996 (Johannesburg) Orlando Pirates (South Africa) beat JS Kabylie (Algeria) 1-0

1997 (Cairo) Zamalek beat Arab Contractors (Egypt) 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw (after extra time)

1998 (Casablanca) Etoile Sahel (Tunisia) beat Raja Casablanca (Morocco) 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw (after extra time)

1999 (Abidjan) Asec Abidjan (Ivory Coast) beat Esperance 3-1 (after extra time)

2000 (Casablanca) Raja Casablanca beat Africa Sports 2-0

2001 (Kumasi) Hearts of Oak (Ghana) beat Zamalek 2-0

2002 (Cairo) Al Ahiy beat Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) 4-1

2003 (Cairo) Zamalek beat Wydad Casablanca 3-1

2004 (Aba) Enyimba (Nigeria) beat Etoile Sahel 1-0

2005 (Aba) Enyimba beat Hearts of Oak 2-0 (after extra time)

2006 (Cairo) Al Ahly beat Royal Armed Forces (Morocco) 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw (after extra time)

2007 (Addis Ababa) Al Ahliy beat Etoile Sahel 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw (after extra time)

2008 (Rades) Etoile Sahel beat CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) 2-1

2009 (Cairo) Al Ahliy beat CS Sfaxien 2-1

2010 (Lubumbashi) TP Mazembe Englebert (DR Congo) beat Stade Malien (Mali) 2-0

2011 (Lubumbashi) TP Mazembe Englebert beat FUS Rabat (Morocco) 9-8 on penalties after a 0-0 draw 2012 (Rades) Maghreb Fes (Morocco) beat Esperance 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw

2013 (Alexandria) Al Ahly beat AC Leopards (Congo) 2-1

2014 (Cairo) Al Ahli beat CS Sfaxien 3-2

2015 (Blida) Entente Setif (Algeria) beat Al Ahli 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw

2016 (Lubumbashi) TP Mazembe Englebert (DR Congo) beat Etoile Sahel 2-1

- TMG Digital