Sundowns keep unbeaten streak going

Mamelodi Sundowns stretched their unbeaten run in the DStv Premiership to 41 matches this weekend with a routine 2-0 victory over Chippa United, continuing to set new benchmarks in South African football.

If they can keep it up to the end of the current season, they will not only achieve an ‘Invincibles’ campaign, but also enter the top 20 for longest unbeaten streaks in global football leagues this century.

It would take their streak to 54 games and top the great Arsenal side under Arsene Wenger, who famously went 49 Premier League games unbeaten between 2003 and 2004.

Juventus also went 49 Serie A matches without defeat between 2011 and 2012, while FC Porto in Portugal did not lose for 53 games between 2012 and 2013.

The Portuguese also went 55 games unbeaten between 2010 and 2012 and more recently 58 games between 2020 and 2022 as they dominated the Primeira Liga.

But Sundowns would have some way to go still to claim the overall record, or even the African one.

According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, the longest unbeaten run by a club side this century is the 88-game run of Gibraltar outfit Lincoln Red Imps between 2009 and 2014.

Red Imps have won 20 of the 23 Gibraltar league titles contested since the 2000/01 season and for five years went unbeaten in the championship.

Their run was ended by a 1-0 home loss to Lynx, after which they went on anther 38-game unbeaten streak.

The African record is held by Egyptian giants Al Ahly, who went 71 league games unbeaten between 2004 and 2007. So another 30, or a full DStv Premiership season, will see Sundowns match that streak.

The other leading African nations are DR Congo’s TP Mazembe (63 games) and Vita Club (58), Al Hilal (57) from Sudan, Primeiro Agosto (57) from Angola, Zamalek (52) of Egypt, Al-Merreikh (51) of Sudan, Mbabane Swallows (51) from Eswatini and APR (50) from Rwanda.

Should Sundowns manage to stay unbeaten for the remainder of this season they will move to joint 16th place on the list with Slavia Prague (54) from the Czech Republic, who had their unbeaten run between 2020 and 2021.    

Next up for Sundowns in the league is Tuesday’s Tshwane Derby against SuperSport United, which could be a real test of their ability to keep their run going. Matsatsantsa were the last team to beat them in the DStv Premiership in September 2022.  

LONGEST UNBEATEN RUNS IN NATIONAL LEAGUES THIS CENTURY

1. Lincoln Red Imps (Gibraltar) - 88           

2. Al-Ahly (Egypt) - 71         

3. Sheriff (Moldova) - 63                  

=. Tout Puissant Mazembe (DR Congo) - 63          

5. Levadia (Estonia) - 61      

6. Al-Hilal Omdurman (Sudan) - 60

7. Pyunik (Armenia) - 59     

8. Vita Club (DR Congo) - 58

=. Porto (Portugal) - 58        

10. Al-Hilal Omdurman (Sudan) - 57          

=.  Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) - 57       

=.  Primeiro Agosto (Angola) - 57   

13. Celtic (Scotland) - 56     

14. Porto (Portugal) - 55     

=.  Real Estelí (Nicaragua) - 55        

16. Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) - 54     

17. Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan) - 53     

=.  Porto (Portugal) - 53       

=.  Bayern (Germany) - 53   

20. Zamalek (Egypt) - 52     

=.  Stade Malien (Mali) - 52 

22. Al-Merreikh (Sudan) - 51          

=.  Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan) - 51     

=.  Hekari United (Papua New Guinea) - 51           

=.  Al-Ahly (Saudi Arabia) - 51        

=.  Istiqlol (Tajikistan) - 51  

=.  Mbabane Swallows (Eswatini) - 51       

=.  PAOK (Greece) - 51         

=.  Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) - 1         

30. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) - 50   

=.  APR (Rwanda) - 50          

32. Arsenal (England) - 49  

=.  Nepal Police Club (Nepal) - 49   

=.  Juventus (Italy) - 49        

=.  Al-Sadd (Qatar) - 49