It’s another season – the sixth in row – in which Mamelodi Sundowns are sprinting almost unchallenged to finish first in the marathon that is the DStv Premiership.

The record South African league champions have won five Premiership titles on the trot and seven in total over the past 10 seasons. The last team to win the league title that was not Sundowns was Bidvest Wits in the 2016/17 season.

In 2022/23, just past the halfway mark of the 30-game season, the Tshwane-based outfit appears to be coasting to league crown number six, in six seasons.

Masandawana are yet to drop any points in the new year, claiming four wins from their four matches played to date. They’ve only conceded in one of those – a 2-1 win over Chippa United – while scoring seven goals.

Ronwen Williams of Mamelodi Sundowns is challenged by Aubrey Ngoma of Supersport United during the DStv Premiership 2022/23 match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 16 January 2023. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu / BackpagePix)

This all sees them comfortably perched at the summit of the log table.

Masandawana have managed a haul of 43 points from their 17 matches, which means they lead second-placed Richards Bay by a mammoth 14 points. Although Sundowns have played a game extra.

The Tshwane team being in cruise control has led to coaches of some of fellow Premiership sides throwing in the towel and admitting that the club will defend its title once more.

“Sundowns will be 20 points clear of everybody [at the end of the season]. It’s a reality in terms of the resources, the players they have, the fitness and cohesion,” Swallows head coach Ernst Middendorp stated candidly recently.

His sentiments were also echoed by SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt, even though his side are third on the table.

“If you look at the points difference, I don’t think anybody can make up 13 points,” said Hunt during an interview on SuperSport TV. “Realistically that’s out of reach. So, let’s just try to concentrate on what we’re trying to do, try to make as many points as we can and see where we end up.”

Read in Daily Maverick: “Sundowns and SuperSport top the DStv Premiership in the new year”

Outside of the suggestions that the league should be handed to Masandawana already, there have also been murmurings that it is almost impossible for the other 15 teams in the league to compete with them – owing to their financial muscle.

“Sundowns are so far ahead of everybody because of the quality they have. There’s no Fifa [financial] fair play in the country and they can buy any quality they want,” said Sekhukhune United head coach Brandon Truter.

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As an anecdote of their financial allure, the Pretoria side has signed three players that were vital cogs for SuperSport.

In 2022, midfielders Teboho Mokoena and Sipho Mbule switched between the Tshwane duo. As did long-time servant and Bafana Bafana No 1 Ronwen Williams. A year before, another Bafana player moved from SuperSport to Sundowns – defender Grant Kekana.

To be fair to Masandawana, the aforementioned players arrived and slotted seamlessly into the side, adding value.

However, some players who have in the past been lured from other Premier Soccer League (PSL) sides have sometimes arrived and struggled to make any impact in the team – being relegated to the shadows after promising displays for their previous clubs.

This is a criticism that Sundowns, in the face of their domestic success, have to fend off every season – that because of their financial strength, they tend to buy the best players from other teams and hoard them, to the detriment of the country’s football.

Read in Daily Maverick: “Bafana Bafana miss out on yet another soccer showcase — this time the African Nations Championship”

Recently though, the defending Premiership champions’ coach, Rulani Mokwena, sarcastically volleyed away the assertions that Masandawana’s success is mainly due to the amount of money the team has access to in order to buy and pay the most outstanding players.

Neo Maema of Mamelodi Sundowns celebrates a goal with teammates during the DStv Premiership 2022/23 match against Supersport United at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 16 January 2023. (Photo: Samuel Shivambu / BackpagePix)

“I said to my players, ‘be careful of praise because it’s like being fed honey with a knife’… So, I don’t like praise. It’s okay. Let’s continue not praising [my technical team, my players and myself]. We don’t win. We are not good enough. We are not good coaches. We win because of money,” quipped Mokwena after their most recent victory.

For all their dominance domestically, Sundowns have struggled to really stamp their authority on continental football.

Since winning the title in 2016 under the tutelage of Pitso Mosimane, the serial South African champions have only managed one semifinal appearance. On four previous occasions since that conquest, they have been eliminated in the quarterfinals. In 2018 they exited in the group stage.

Hunt believes Masandawana’s strength should be measured by their success against their peers in the Champions League.  

“Sundowns shouldn’t be judged on the PSL, to be fair. They should be judged on the Champions League,” Hunt told journalists after his side narrowly lost to their neighbours recently.

“Because the gap is so much bigger than everybody in South Africa. It’s unfortunate. [But] it’s the way the game has gone… It is what it is.”

The reigning South African champions begin their latest quest to reconquer Africa on 10 February – with a clash against Sudanese club Al Hilal. Also in their group are record African champions Al Ahly of Egypt and Cameroon’s Cotton Sport. DM