It is currently the most successful football club of the South African PSL era. The Sundowns recovered spectacularly in the post-1994 era and won seven league titles. The first winning streak in the league began in 1996, when the club reached the top three years in a row. The Sundowns and the runners-up move on to the Champions League and the club that finishes third qualifies for the Confederation Cup along with the winner of the FA Cup.
The flamboyant Zola Mahobe bought the Sundowns in 1985 and immediately used his charm to inspire the club to the second division league and get promoted to the first division. The club describes the club's name change to Mamelodi Sundowns as “a nod to its heritage in Atteridgeville, Eersterus and Laudium and to the club's headquarters in Mamelodi”. It came after the Sundowns advanced to the final of the CAF Champions League in 2001 and lost to Egyptian football giant Al-Ahly. Mamelodi Sundowns players celebrate a goal that helped them beat Zamalek 3-1 to win the African Champions League.
The Mamelodi Sundowns won the CAF Super Cup in their first attempt on Saturday by defeating TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0 in Pretoria. Zola Mahobe is said to have spent around 2 million rands to boost the Sundowns in his first two years as club owner.
