Inside Politics Reporter
Mamelodi Sundowns won the inaugural African Football League on Sunday, beating Wydad Casablanca of Morocco 2-0 in the second leg of the final at Loftus Versfeld, Tshwane.
Sundowns got a 3-2 aggregate win in the first edition of Africa’s effort at launching a super league, which was reduced from a planned 24-club league to a six-week, eight-team knockout tournament.
Trailing 2-1 from last weekend’s first leg in Casablanca, Sundowns evened the aggregate score in stoppage time at the end of the first half through Peter Shalulile.
Sundowns came from behind to win the first-ever African Football League.
They added a second goal seven minutes into the second half when Aubrey Modhiba stole away possession before chipping the ball over the Wydad and this made Sundowns the first team to ever win the tournament. They will receive a $4 million (R76 million) cash prize.
Sundowns head coach Rhulani Mokwena also registered his name in the history books of African Football. He is effectively the first African Coach to win the inaugural AFL Tournament with the most competitive team, Mamelodi Sundowns.
A super league for Africa was originally suggested by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who condemned similar efforts in Europe while saying it could transform the game in Africa.
Infantino attended the match in Pretoria on Sunday, along with a capacity crowd who had been granted free entry.
Earlier Infantino paid a courtesy visit to President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the game. He was joined by Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa at Mahlamba Ndlopfu.
On Saturday, Infantino was at the Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
With additional reporting from Reuters
