Extra money to flow in for Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns’ bank balance is already guaranteed of yet another pay cheque besides the USD6 million (approx. R98 million) collected on Sunday.

The new kings of African club football will touch down at OR Tambo Airport on Monday evening with the trophy having also secured a place at the lucrative 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

The Intercontinental Cup

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For the Intercontinental Cup, there will be a subsection African-Asian-Pacific Cup in between on the way to the FIFA Challenger Cup to culminate with a match against the UEFA Champions League winners in the final, which will play out as the Intercontinental Cup. 

Then there will also be a one-off CAF Super Cup match against the CAF Confederation Cup winners, USM Alger.

According to the CAF competition calendar, that match is scheduled for October 31 at a venue yet to be decided, though the Champions League winners usually play at home.

There will be a winners’ cheque of USD500 000 (approx. R8,2 million), while the runners-up get USD250 000 (approx. R4,1 million).

Sundowns on top

Then, in the CAF 5-year ranking system, Sundowns have moved to 73 points – seven ahead of second-placed Al Ahly.

This is the first time that they have been top since the CAF 5-year ranking system was introduced.

CAF uses this ranking system based on results from the preceding five years to determine which member association enters two clubs in its competitions, along with club seeding matters ahead of draws in both the Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup. 

Points are weighed according to the year of performance and then multiplied by a coefficient according to the year, with the most recent year carrying more value.

The Champions League carries more weight than the Confederation Cup.

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Having been in two semi-finals and then two finals now, Sundowns have shot up to the top in the rankings to be used for the 2026/27 season seeding.

On the association rankings used for next season, South Africa remains in the top four and significantly comfortably in the top 12 nations allowed two entries in each of the CAF club competitions.  

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Caf Champions League Caf Champions League Final Caf Super Cup Fifa Club World Cup Mamelodi Sundowns News