Mamelodi Sundowns will be hoping to end a remarkable run of North African dominance when they host USM Alger in the 2026 CAF Super Cup in Pretoria on Sunday.
The last nine Super Cup matches have all been won by teams from North Africa, a sequence stretching back to Sundowns’ maiden triumph in 2017.
The year before that, DR Congo’s TP Mazembe lifted the trophy, but since 2012, North African clubs have won 13 of the 15 editions.
There has been at least one North African club in every Super Cup since 2011, with the 2010 meeting between Mazembe and Mali’s Stade Malien the last not to feature a side from the region.
In fact, from 2019 to 2025, the fixture featured only North African clubs, with Sundowns becoming the first team from outside the region to appear since Mazembe in 2018.
Sundowns will also be hoping to maintain another extraordinary record in the competition, with no visiting team having won a Super Cup match in normal or extra time when playing away to foreign opposition in the 34 previous editions since it was first staged in 1993.
Of the 22 matches played on the home soil of one of the competing clubs, with the opposition coming from another country, the hosts have lifted the trophy on 20 occasions.
There have been only two exceptions, and both visiting teams triumphed on penalties after the matches finished level.
Tunisia’s Étoile du Sahel drew 2-2 with Raja Casablanca in Morocco in 1998 before winning 4-2 on penalties.
In 2012, Morocco’s Maghreb Fès held Espérance of Tunisia to a 1-1 draw in Tunis before prevailing 4-3 in the shoot-out.
Nine Super Cup matches have been staged on neutral territory, while three others featured clubs from the same country playing on home soil.
It underlines the size of the task facing USM Alger, who will be hoping to become the first visiting side to defeat a foreign host outright in the history of the competition.
Nick Said has been covering African sport for almost three decades, specialising in football, rugby and cricket. He is based in Cape Town, South Africa and you can follow him on X and LinkedIn.
MentionsFootballCAF Super CupMamelodi SundownsMazembeUSM AlgerEsperance TunisEtoile SahelRaja CasablancaAfrican footballGlobalSouth AfricaKenyaGhanaNigeria
