Mamelodi Sundowns’ CAF Champions League success may not only bring silverware and history.
According to leading SABC Sport journalist Andile Mncube, the club will distribute the entire R100 million prize money from winning Africa’s biggest club competition among players and staff.
MAMELODI SUNDOWNS’ REWARD CULTURE CONTINUES
The tradition reportedly dates back to former club president Dr Patrice Motsepe and has continued under the current chairman.
For many supporters, that revelation says plenty about the culture that has helped drive Sundowns’ dominance over the last decade.
“Mamelodi Sundowns players and staff will share the ENTIRE R100 Million prize money from winning the CAF Champions League,” Mncube reported on X. “This tradition was started by the former Club President Dr Patrice Motsepe and continues under the Club Chairman. Let the maths begin.”
Sundowns secured the CAF Champions League title after overcoming AS FAR in the final, adding another continental crown to an era already packed with league titles and domestic success.
The reported decision means the people directly involved in the campaign will benefit from the entire prize pool.
That includes players and technical staff who carried Sundowns through another demanding season across multiple competitions.
It also continues a tradition established during the Motsepe era.
DR PATRICE MOTSEPE TAKEOVER
Patrice Motsepe took control of the club when he acquired a 51% stake from the Tsichlas family, before moving decisively to complete a full takeover in May 2004. The remaining 49% was bought for an estimated R65 million, giving him total ownership and full control of the project.
From the outset, Motsepe reshaped the financial structure of the club and, in the process, shifted the standards within the Premier Soccer League.
He introduced a new era of improved player salaries and performance-based incentives, raising expectations across South African football and positioning Sundowns as a professionally run, elite-level institution with continental ambitions.
The investment from the Motsepe family gradually transformed Sundowns into the dominant force of the PSL era. After experimenting with a series of high-profile European coaches, stability arrived with the appointment of Pitso Mosimane in 2012, a move that unlocked sustained success.
Under this structure and backing, Sundowns went on to win eight consecutive league titles from the 2017/18 season onwards, breaking the long-standing grip of traditional rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Today, the club’s cabinet reflects that dominance, with 15 PSL-era league titles alongside multiple domestic cups, including the Nedbank Cup, MTN8, and Telkom Knockout. Mostepe has since become the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), handing over the Sundowns chairman reigns his son Tlhopie.
