Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned the Africa Football League (AFL) champions after defeating Wydad Casablanca 3-2 on aggregate.
After two legs, Sundowns won the final 3-2, giving them their first African trophy since the CAF Super Cup six years ago.
They had lost twice to Wydad in the semi-finals and once in the quarter-finals of the 2017 CAF Champions League. This was their first win against them in a knockout match.
It had been 13 meetings between the two teams before this one, with eight wins by a single goal and five draws. This was the first time that more than one goal separated the teams.
Sundowns won four million dollars from their success, which is the same as winning the South African league five times.
“I am so lucky to be in charge of this magnificent group of players,” said Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena.
“My thanks to the yellow nation (Sundowns supporters) for their wonderful support from the first minute to the last.
“It is difficult to talk now. This is a very emotional time for me. There has been so much heartbreak after some previous matches against Wydad. Now there is joy.”
Shalulile, the captain of Namibia, broke the tie three minutes into extra time in the first half after being called back after missing Sundowns’ previous five league games.
Youssef el Motie, the custodian for Wydad, blocked a shot from Teboho Mokoena from the edge of the box. Shalulile was the first person to react and slam the ball into the roof of the net.
A crowd of 50,000 people, including the presidents of FIFA and CAF, Gianni Infantino and Patrice Motsepe, finally had something to cheer about when the goal was scored.
The first half was much worse than expected because of a lot of stoppages for injuries, too many physical challenges, and the Casablanca team wasting time.
Eight minutes into the second half, Wydad scored again after a bad pass in their own half.
Two Moroccans tried to tackle Modiba, but he was able to avoid them and lift the ball over El Motie and into the net.
Wydad took more risks because they needed to score at least once to go to extra time. Their captain, Ayoub el Amloud, had a powerful header off a corner saved by Ronwen Williams.
El Amloud, a defender filling in as captain for suspended midfielder Yahya Jabrane, was Sundowns’ biggest threat with another header that was close to the goal.
In the first two rounds of the eight-club competition, Sundowns beat Petro Luanda of Angola and Al Ahly of Egypt, who has won the CAF Champions League 11 times.
CAF fought hard to get sponsors for the League and wants it to have 24 clubs by the 2024–2025 season.
Photo by Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
