When Mamelodi Sundowns announced the return of Bongani “Ben 10” Zungu to Chloorkop they did it in style. They did it in front of a mostly capacity crowd at Loftus Stadium minutes before kickoff in their DStv Premiership match against Kaizer Chiefs this month. It was in line with their moniker, Bafana ba Style. The club’s young president, Tlhopie Motsepe, led Zungu, draped in his Italian designer labels, onto the field and gave him his Sundowns jersey.
Social media and the SA football fraternity again went into a frenzy. It did not end there. Sundowns went on and walloped Chiefs 4-0. It was an afternoon of victories for the Brazilians. Besides the bragging rights over Chiefs, they had scored another win by re-signing the exciting Zungu after it was alleged in the media he was on his way to Amakhosi.
Previously, Chiefs beat Sundowns to the signature of former Brazilians star Keagan Dolly on his return from four-and-a-half seasons in France. But it was not to be with Zungu — Sundowns wanted their star midfielder back and broke the bank for him.
The biggest question on everyone’s lips was: could Sundowns already be preparing themselves for the Caf Super League that will start in August 2023? Another is, could this tournament be the saving grace for Chiefs and Soweto’s other fallen giant Orlando Pirates? Fans are curious, especially with the sugar-coated $11.5m (R195m) prize money for winning the tournament. This is four times more than winning all tournaments in SA. Sundowns, taking everything on offer domestically in 2021/22, raked in about R45m from winning the Premiership, MTN8, Nedbank Cup and the league’s the quarterly Q-innovation prizes.
We must try to look at the benefits that we can get out of this thing. The benefits are the financial resources that are coming with it. Africa needs money – I say it’s good for football and I support it,
— Pitso Mosimane
With a monstrous figure of $100m (R1.6bn) for the total prize money the Super League can genuinely enrich the clubs who will take part in it. Indications are that given their stature and level of support in SA, Chiefs and Pirates will be included in the league. Due tokick off in August 2023, it has the potential to rescue both Pirates and Chiefs from the clutches of Sundowns’ financial stronghold on SA football.
Sundowns are bankrolled by current Caf president Patrice Motsepe. The mining magnate has pumped hundreds of millions of rand into the club and both Soweto giants are being left behind as mere passengers in the DStv Premiership. The history of SA football lies at the doorstep of Pirates and Chiefs, but things have changed drastically over the past 10 years. Chiefs and Pirates have watched with envy as Sundowns keep on signing the best players, keep on playing in CAF Champions League finals and even the Fifa Club World Cup.
Chiefs are the most decorated club in the country, having won the most trophies since its formation in 1970. However, since the PSL era began in the 1996/97 season, Sundowns have increasingly ruled the roost, the past decade being their most formidable. They have the won the PSL league title 12 times and for five years in a row since the 2017/18 season. In the past nine years, they have won the league seven times. Chiefs and Pirates have each won the Premiership a mere four times in the 26 years since 1996.
Chiefs and Pirates cannot compete against Sundowns financially, but taking part in the mega-rich Super League can bring them closer to ending Sundowns’ monopoly.
However, Sgwili Gumede, a respected sports business analyst, cautions against the school of thought that the Super League can be a silver bullet for the Soweto giants. “The Super League is just a concept, and it’s not going to rescue teams that are not able to rescue themselves,” Gumede told TimesLIVE Premium.
“Those who are serious about their organisations, who are always investing in the right people, in development, the Super League is going to help them get there quicker. Some of the problems we have in SA is that no amount of money is going to help some clubs.
“Remember that Chiefs and Pirates are the wealthiest teams in the country other than Sundowns, who prosper because of the financial standings of their owner. But in terms of commercial assets and what teams are able to make on their own without their owners, Chiefs and Pirates get more money than anyone else.
“The Super League is not going to help them be better. They need to be better themselves by hiring the right people in the right positions and recruiting better and being stronger. The Super League is going to make your Al Ahly and other North African teams more powerful because they have done a lot of work upfront to be really good football businesses already, which is not something that can be said about many Southern African countries and clubs.”
Former Sundowns and Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane has also weighed in on the conversation.
“We must try to look at the benefits that we can get out of this thing. The benefits are the financial resources that are coming with it. Africa needs money — I say it’s good for football and I support it.
“The challenge is how are we going to juggle the Caf Champions League with this new league. The coaches are already complaining about travelling and fixture congestion. Clubs with big budgets and squads will be better suited. It’s not easy and I am asking myself how it is going to happen.”
The Super League seems to be coming, hell or high water. For Chiefs and Pirates especially, using the spin-offs effectively could resurrect the ailing brands.
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