The Chairman's Letter

THE CHAIRMAN'S

LETTER

Photos: Sundowns Media

DEAR MASANDAWANA,

Welcome to the fifth and final edition of the Mamelodi Sundowns Magazine for 2022! It has been such a busy and exciting year for your team in yellow, I struggled to include all of the amazing moments that we shared over the past few months (luckily, they are all captured in the pages to follow!).

As the year slowly ends and we plan for a holiday period with family and friends; the final two months of 2022 promise to be a fantastic festival for fans of football as we look forward to the FIFA World Cup in November, and a host of Mamelodi Sundowns events throughout December!

One cannot talk about festivities without touching on the magical celebrations that the Club has experienced with our supporters at the malls, universities, and home matches since the start of the 2022/23 season. We have enjoyed safe and specially designated kiddies’ corners in the stadium that brought our Ka Bo Yellow Kids closer to the game. We have had fireworks, jumping castles, and a host of musical acts that have brought excitement to all our events.

These innovative events are done because we believe that attending a Mamelodi Sundowns match should be an exciting experience with music, football and entertainment for the whole family. I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of spectators who have shown appreciation for our efforts, both on social media and in the stadium, and I would like to thank our supporters and our sensational colleagues who brought these initiatives to life- and of course, a massive thank you to all the musicians who have worked with Mamelodi Sundowns so far.

Over the past two months, our Club has been passionately involved in various community projects. We started September by celebrating International Day of Charity with the launch of our very own charity award, The Mamelodi Sundowns Champions Charity Cup, which is a floating trophy that is given with a cash donation to the most inspirational charities. The inaugural winner was the Give Them Hope Foundation in Nellmapius, who received the trophy and R98 000.

On September 20th our club had the privilege of awarding a multi-purpose sports facility to Soshanguve South Secondary School for winning the Nedbank Cup; and in October, our coaches and players handed out food parcels to three different orphanages as we participated in another successful World Food Day program. I have been humbled by the men and women that work with me in the Mamelodi Sundowns foundation, as well as our coaches and players, who have shown an honest willingness to give their time, energy and effort towards our community initiatives. Thank you all!

It has been a peculiar start to the season for our treble winning team. On the one hand, Bafana Ba Style have continued to successfully collect points and maintain their position at the top of the league; and on the other hand, we have had our share of setbacks, and the free scoring squad of the previous campaign seemed subdued. The club was faced with a difficult decision, to make a change immediately, or hope that eventually the team would click into gear. There is a quote that says “To Change is difficult; but to not change is fatal”.

Sundowns players, coaches and staff visiting Soshanguve orphanages for World Food Day

Acting in a positive and proactive manner, the decision was made to restructure the leadership of the technical team and allow coach Rulani to assume the position of Head Coach, coach Steve as our First Team Coach, and coach Manqoba as the Senior Coach. The repositioning was implemented to allow for greater definition in the technical department and to allow for clarity across the squad. Of course, a restructuring like this will raise questions and concerns, but we have confidence in this decision; and more importantly, we have confidence in all the coaches and their commitment to the vision of the club- which is to be the best team in Africa. I would like to thank the coaches for their professionalism in response to the change and wish them the very best in their new roles.

As I write this, we are a few days away from bidding our ladies team farewell as they travel to Morocco to defend their CAF Women’s Champions League title. By the time this letter is published, Banyana Ba Style would have played in Africa’s elite women’s tournament, and we would have a better idea of what the competition looks like. However, what we do know already is that the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies will enter the tournament with targets on their backs, and like our men’s squad, they will have to deal with the demands of being defending champions.

Nothing can ever take away from the immense history that Captain Zanele and her teammates achieved last year when they became the first ever winners of the CAF Women’s Champions League- but the Brazilians have another opportunity to create history once again, as they fight to become the first ever ladies team to pull off a repeat. I am sure I speak on behalf of the entire Mamelodi Sundowns family when I say GOOD LUCK LADIES!!

Tlhopie Motsepe with Rhoda, Miche, Andisiwe and Chuene before heading to Morocco for the CAF Women's Champions League

I am very proud to share with you that Mamelodi Sundowns FC will be launching a very special film that is dedicated to our Ladies team and their 2021/22 CAF Women’s Champions League victory in November, called Banyana Ba Style: The First Queens of African football. This film gives an honest account of the state of Women’s Football in South Africa, but also celebrates the historic achievement that was made in African women’s football by the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies team.

Another exciting project to look out for in November is the Mamelodi Sundowns FIFA 23 Championship which is a regional tournament that will bring together gamers from across the country in celebration of esports and the inclusion of Bafana Ba Style in the world’s most popular football game!

In conclusion, I would like to thank our Club President, the Board, and all my colleagues at the Club for an unforgettable year. Thank you to our champion sponsors: Puma, Hyundai, Herbalife Nutrition, and Translux; as well as our commercial partners Rocnation Sports International.

I want to wish you and the entire Yellow Nation a happy holiday. Please stay safe on the roads, and please consider helping those who are less fortunate if you can, especially over Christmas. If you ended this year wondering “how did it go past so quickly?” then allow me to share this quote that I hope serves you well in 2023.

“Don’t count the days- make the days count!”- Muhammad Ali

Wishing you a prosperous new year!!

The Sky is the Limit!

Tlhopie Motsepe
(Chairman)

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