The month of March was a traditionally busy month at Mamelodi Sundowns, with the first team taking part in multiple competitions, the Ladies team continuing their preparations for the new season and the club taking part in community initiatives.
A month that started with uncertainty, but ended up on a high, The Brazilians enjoyed a thoroughly successful month of football in March, with wins in the DStv Premier league, Nedbank Cup and progressing to the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League.
After an up-and-down month, Masandawana found themselves in first place in domestic league competition with 51 points after 23 matches played. The Tshwane giants began the third month of the year with a trip to Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga to face TS Galaxy in the DStv Premiership, the two sides competed for the second time in the 2021/22 campaign and in both encounters The Brazilians reigned supreme. The Rockets suffered their second defeat against Masandawana, losing 3 – 0 on their home ground as the visitors maintained their top spot in the league.
A tough encounter at the Harry Gwala Stadium three days later against Maritzburg United saw Bafana Ba Style drop points in the league for the first time in the new calendar year. Downs 2 – 1 defeat by The team of choice became the club’s second loss in their title defense after an unbeaten run that was inflicted by AmaZulu FC in December 2021. Sundowns had played 18 games since the start of the 2021/22 season in August without recording a loss in their campaign.
The Brazilians demolished third tier Mathaithai FC in the Nedbank Cup competition, thrashing the Free State based team 6-0. Bafana Ba Style showed no mercy in their attempts to move into the quarter finals of the Ke Yona competition.
It was time for the Tshwane giants to change direction and make an appearance in the second leg of the CAF Champions League group stages. Masandawana recorded a historical win over Egyptian rivals Al Ahly SC with back-to-back wins to remain at the top of Group A. In the second round of the continental cup competition, Masandawana scored an early 10-minute goal as they hosted Al Ahly at the FNB Stadium and marked their double win over the Egyptians.
The final game of the month was a tight affair in Sudan against Al-Hilal. Downs capitalized and added four fantastic goals to their continental record as the game concluded with a 4 – 2 victory for the visitors.
The month of March saw the final international break of the 2021/22 season take place and the performances of a number of Masandawana stars were rewarded with deserving call ups to the Bafana Bafana squad that participated in two international friendlies, against Guinea and France respectively. Lyle Lakay and Khuliso Mudau joined up with Bafana mainstays, Teboho Mokoena, Mothobi Mvala and Rushine De Reuck to complete a cohort of five Brazilians in the national team.
The Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Team continued their preparations for the upcoming Hollywoodbets Super League season, playing a number of pre-season friendlies and announcing the signing of three new players. Gabonnelwe Salome Kekana and Tiisetso ‘Bastos’ Makhubela joined from Tshwane University of Technology, whilst Banyana Ba Style also procured the services of Miche Minnies from Vasco da Gama Ladies and Coaches Agnes Nkosi and Jerry Tshabalala look to bolster the squad list ahead of their title defence.
The Ladies were celebrated for their outstanding achievements in the league at the Hollywoodbets award ceremony that took place at the end of the month and walked away with a number of prestigious awards including the Coach of the Season award for Coach Jerry Tshabalala, the Player of the Season award for Bambanani Mbane, the joint top scorer award from Andisiwe Mcgoyi and the ultimate prize of team of the season.
Off the pitch, Mamelodi Sundowns in partnership with the Premier Soccer League, Boots for Africa, and the competition sponsor MTN, graced Hammanskraal region in northern Gauteng, to mark this year’s edition of the “Goals for Charity” initiative.
The initiative was launched by MTN in 2018 to complement the good work that was already being done through the MTN 8 Legacy Programme which aims at promoting soccer clinics and giving out donations of Dream Bags consisting of football kits to schools in the communities through the provincial roadshows.
The continuous growth of the Mamelodi Sundowns fan base was on display as the brand stretched its reach into neighbouring Namibia as the very first supporters branch was opened in Windhoek. Led by the club supporter co-ordination structures as well as club ambassador Tiyani Mabunda, Masandawana brought the capital city to a standstill as they celebrated the expansion of the clubs support base across Africa and established new relationships.
Finally, March also saw the launch of the latest edition of the Sundowns Stories film: Hlogi – Shoe Shine and the Yanos, which premiered live on our YouTube Channel Mamelodi Sundowns TV.
