On Saturday, Mamelodi Sundowns won their sixth consecutive South African Premiership title while preparing to compete in a Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition.
The Pretoria club hosted Cameroonians Coton Sport in a CAF Champions League group encounter less than two hours after a result 1,100 kilometres (685 miles) away clinched their title.
SuperSport United needed to beat Chippa United in the southern coastal city of Gqeberha to keep a mathematical chance of passing Sundowns.
However, SuperSport drew 1-1 and can only earn 58 points, one less than Sundowns has with seven matches remaining.
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SuperSport have dropped five points in two games and currently share second place with South Africa’s two most well-known football clubs, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs.
Pirates defeated Richards Bay 2-0 in Durban, while Chiefs defeated 10-man Stellenbosch 2-1 at home in Johannesburg.
Sundowns, owned by CAF president and billionaire businessman Patrice Motsepe, have won the Premiership 13 times since the club’s inception in 1996.
Chiefs and Pirates have each won four championships, SuperSport three times, and Manning Rangers, Santos, and Bidvest Wits one.
Commenting on Sundowns latest title, TV analyst and former Chiefs and Pirates star Jimmy Tau said “the champions are head and shoulders above other South African clubs”.
“They are setting a very good example and it is up to the other top-flight clubs to emulate them,” he added.
Sundowns’ critics say Motsepe’s financial support provides them an unfair advantage in a league where the Chiefs and Pirates are the only other clubs with large cash surpluses.
Sundowns, on the other hand, have constantly proven to be astute transfer purchasers, bringing in stars from Africa and South America.
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Two goalkeepers, Ugandan Denis Onyango and Zambian Kennedy Mweene, a defender, Kenyan Brian Onyango, and two attackers, Namibian Peter Shalulile and Ethiopian Abubeker Nassir, are among the foreigners.
Bolivian midfielder Erwin Saavedra and Chilean Marcelo Allende and Uruguayan Gaston Sirino are the South Americans.
Local Rulani Mokwena, a 36-year-old who never played top-level football, was appointed head coach this season after previous sharing the role with Manqoba Mngqithi.
