Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana says the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has raised their belief as footballers and are motivated to help the club return to this level of football again.
Kekana, 32, has been a pillar of the Sundowns defence since joining the club from SuperSport United in July 2021 and won the PSL Defender of the Season award last season.
He racked up 40 appearances this season as their most used centre-back, forming partnerships with several centre-backs as the ever-present figure, including every minute of their Club World Cup campaign in the United States of America this month.
“I think we should believe in ourselves a lot more, sometimes you watch on television and think we can’t get there you know, but we were able to come here and compete, and do very well, put South Africa on the map, the identity of Mamelodi Sundowns on the map,” Kekana said.
“It’s something we can be proud of, obviously a lot to learn, the mistakes we made, not being clinical in front of goal, it’s part of football, but we stick together, we’re a big group, a lot of brotherhood here and we can be proud of our efforts, obviously disappointed to not have gotten through to the next round but it’s something to build on.”
Sundowns now need to return to CAF inter-club football with the goal of winning the competition over the next three seasons, or being within the highest ranked sides in the coefficient points system in order to return to the next edition in 2029.
Pyramids FC have already booked their place in the tournament, having won the Champions League against Sundowns, prior to Masandawana arriving for the global event in North America.
“Definitely [we’re motivated to get the club back here], it was unfortunate in the CAF Champions league final but that’s where we are, where we want to compete, where we want to stay, where we want to dominate,” he said.
“Next season affords us another opportunity to go try and do that, so for us now, it’s to be thankful for the season, get some good rest, two, three weeks out and come back, fresh, ready to go again.”
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