Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena says his players remain motivated to win even bigger trophies in future after clinching the first edition of the African Football League (AFL) on Sunday.
Sundowns beat Waydad Casablanca 2-0 to clinch the trophy on a 3-2 goal aggregate.
Speaking after the match, Mokwena said:”First of all I want to thank the entire team, the players, technical bench and the club leadership for their support to have won this trophy.
“The players know that this is just the beginning and that we must win more trophies in future,” he said.
After winning the AFL trophy, Sundowns will embark on preparations for the CAF Champions League where they have qualified for the quarter-finals.
The team last won the Champions League in 2016 and last season came close but were knocked out in the semi-finals by Waydad.
Mokwena admitted that the penalty they scored in the first leg in Morocco two weeks ago proved decisive in the return match.
“Match statistics suggested that we were the better side in both legs. And scoring the penalty away was massive.”
With a congested fixture coming up just after the conclusion of the AFL, the 36-year-old tactician admitted it was not going to be easy to catch up with the remaining fixtures.
“We have had a busy two months and some players have to be released to go and join their national teams for the up-coming FIFA matches while others will need to rest. It means we will not have enough time to train before resuming up-coming competitive matches,” he said.
On the way to the final, Sundowns beat Petro Atletico in the quarter-finals 2-0, before edging out Egyptian and African giants Al-Ahly 4-3 on aggregate.
For their win, Sundowns pocketed $4 million while Wydad the runners-up, won the sum of $3m
