Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams has praised on South African sport at large for the recent success and has called for the country to rally behind the club who are now at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Williams, speaking ahead of the global event where they are now based at IMG Academy in Florida says in order to make up for the CAF Champions League defeat, they need to show character and not change the brand of football they show to the continent, when they are competing against the elite of the world in the United States of America.
The goal is to showcase the world what Masandawana is capable of, to showcase the brand of football and leave a positive imprint on the biggest stage of club football.
“[We must] be ourselves, play our football, stick to our identity, we don’t wanna go there and change things, play a different because of the strength of the opposition, we wanna play our football and we believe we have enough to get out of the group,” he said.
“i think for us to get out the group, that is a positive, that would be massive, because when you look at the names in the group, some big names, it will be tough but we believe that we can get out of it, we will show the people who Mamelodi Sundowns is and honestly it’s looking good and I am excited.”
Williams, the Bafana Bafana national team captain, who led the country to third place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and finished ninth in the Ballon d’Or goalkeeper category is also having a taste of football in the states, potentially ahead of South Africa heading in that direction next year for the FIFA World Cup – which they are on the brink of qualifying for.
He has also urged for support from the country, as it’s not just Sundowns they represent, but South Africa, echoing the sentiments of First Team coach Steve Komphela.
“It’s definitely [good preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup], it’s wonderful, that one we still need to wrap up, hopefully in September we can wrap up the FIFA World Cup [qualification] with Bafana and then back-to-back [AFCON], we will be part and parcel of the big tournaments as South Africa,” he said.
“It’s amazing, it’s unheard of in a very long time, so kudos to the country, Bafana Bafana, Mamelodi Sundowns and all the teams that are pushing us, pushing to get into the Champions League – I mean Orlando Pirates were amazing this season as well, Stellenbosch too.
“We need to keep doing that, because you can see the growth in our country, with the U17s, U20, in all the sporting codes and it’s amazing to part and parcel of South African sport at the moment and we need to cherish because for a long time it wasn’t there, not only football, but rugby, cricket and athletics as well, so we need to cherish it as a country.
“It’s a good moment for football, and we need to support each other, we need the support of the millions of South African fans, no matter what team is representing the country, be it your rival but just support for the time as they put the country up there with the elite, it’s an amazing time to be a South African.”
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