Mamelodi Sundowns are a South African football (soccer) club that plays in the Premier Soccer League.
Since 2003, Sundowns are owned by billionaire mining magnate Patrice Motsepe.
The club's nickname, The Brazilians, is a reference to their uniforms, which echo those of the Brazilian national team.
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club originated from Marabastad, a cosmopolitan area North West of the Pretoria CBD.
The club was originally formed in the early 1960s by a group of youngsters, among them were Reginald Hartze, Joey Lawrence and Bernard Hartze, to mention but a few, and it became an official football club in 1970.
The club was affiliated to the Federation Professional Soccer League in 1973 and the same year reached the finals of the Coca-Cola Cup where they played against Berea United and lost 5–3.
In 1978, the Federation Professional Soccer League threw their weight behind the then National Professional Soccer League. This meant the end of the Federation Professional Soccer League and the subsequent relegation of Sundowns to the second division.
Mamelodi, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township set up by the then apartheid government northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established when 16 houses were built on the farm Vlakfontein in June 1953[citation needed] and later the name changed to Mamelodi, the name given to president Paul Kruger by the Africans because of his ability to whistle and imitate birds, also meaning Mother of Melodies. The Group Areas Act designated Mamelodi as a blacks-only area, though this became moot with the fall of apartheid in 1994. In the 1960s black citizens where forcefully removed from the suburb of Lady Selbourne in Pretoria to Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Atteridgeville. Anti-apartheid activist Reverend Nico Smith preached in Mamelodi from 1982–1989, and obtained permission to live there himself from 1985–1989. During that period, he and his wife Ellen were the only whites legally allowed to live in Mamelodi. The township still has vastly more blacks than any other group as of 2010.
Teko Tsholofelo Modise (born 22 December 1982 in Soweto, Gauteng) is a South African footballer, who plays for Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League and for the South African national team.
Modise was born in Meadowlands, Soweto and was raised by his mother in Diepkloof. He is the third in a family of three children (a brother and a sister).
Teko Modise had a stunning career at Orlando Pirates both creating and scoring goals. Modise became famous after a year at the pirates, a fan favourite for the whole of South Africa. The player has unique skill and shooting abilities earning him PSL 'top scorer' award in 2008.
He was voted Mvela Golden League Player of the Season while playing for City Pillars during the 2005/2006 season.
In 2008 and 2009, he became the inaugural PSL Footballer of the Year playing for Orlando Pirates.
Modise was recently appointed ambassador by global company McDonald's for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and also the ambassador for Coca-Cola, Nike, Telkom and Samsung.
Further speculation mounted during the summer of 2009, when rumours surfaced that a number of clubs were considering an offer, including Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Birmingham City and Derby County. Modise admitted to Sky Sports News that an offer from Italy would be too difficult to refuse, citing fellow international teammate Steven Pienaar's influence as a key factor. However, an asking price of £4m may have been too much.
Alje Schut (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɑljə ˈsχʏt]) (born February 18, 1981 in Utrecht) is a football defender from the Netherlands, who is playing for FC Utrecht since the 1999–2000 season in the Dutch highest league, Eredivisie.
His best qualities are his strength and balance when defending, and also his heading. He is also a blond haired footballing maverick on the game Pro Evolution Soccer.