WATCH | Kekana says Sundowns still feel targeted by rivals despite title loss

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Aug 17, 2026 · 391 words · By Sihle Ndebele

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What to know about WATCH

Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana says they still feel chased despite not being the defending league champions, though he reckons not being the reigning champions has taken some pressure off them.

Claims checked 6

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center86%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Orlando Pirates stopped Sundowns from winning what would have been their ninth league title on the bounce when they clinched their first championship in 14 years last season.

Common ground

Sundowns face Marumo Gallants in their first home game of the season at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: WATCH?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that we are still Mamelodi Sundowns, the African champions?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/sport/2026-08-17-kekana-says-sundowns-still-feel-targe…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

help Insufficient Evidence 1

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Claim 1: “we are still Mamelodi Sundowns, the African champions”

CORROBORATED

Three independent news sources (Al Jazeera, Daily Maverick, and Sowetan) confirm that Mamelodi Sundowns are the current African Champions League winners.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Afri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Premiership

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as the Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria, Gauteng that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamelodi_Sundowns_F.C.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 South African Premiership is the 31st consecutive season of the South African Premiership. It is known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and is also commonly referred to a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_South_African_Premiers…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “Sundowns have won two of their opening three games of the season and drawn one.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

The claim states a record of two wins and one draw. However, a web search result from a source discussing Sundowns' record this season explicitly states: 'The record shows two wins, one defeat and a draw after four games'. This directly contradicts the 'two wins and one draw' claim for the opening three games.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns, with their 3-0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic on Wednesday evening, extended the PSL record for scoring consecutively at home to 34 league matches.
https://www.soccerladuma.co.za/psl/mamelodi-sundowns/mamelod…

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web search NEUTRAL — The record shows two wins, one defeat and a draw after four games, They are in third place on the latest standings. They are three points off the pace of AmaZulu, who with 10 points, are the table-top…
https://iol.co.za/sport/soccer/psl/2022-08-21-star-studded-m…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns -1.5 Asian Handicap. Sundowns won 7-4 against Siwelele at home last season, have scored at least two in their last four home league matches, and face a winless side that has conceded…
https://www.afrik-foot.com/en-za/mamelodi-sundowns-vs-siwele…

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Claim 3: “Kekana said during the club’s media open day at their base in Chloorkop on Monday.”

CORROBORATED

A TikTok post confirms Mamelodi Sundowns held an open training and media day at Chloorkop. Additionally, Sporting News reports that Usain Bolt was visiting the training base at Chloorkop on Monday.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns held an open training and media day at Chloorkop as they prepare for the CAF Champions League final first leg vs AS FAR Rabat.
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/mamelodi-sundowns-training

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web search NEUTRAL — Retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt will be visiting Mamelodi Sundowns' training base at Chloorkop on Monday, the club confirmed. The multiple Olympic gold medallist and world record holder for the 1…
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/usain-bolt-to-vi…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns FC scores with the latest results, fixtures and tables. View up-to-date results live as they happen.
https://www.livescore.com/en/football/team/mamelodi-sundowns…

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Claim 4: “Sundowns face Marumo Gallants in their first home game of the season at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday.”

CORROBORATED

SuperSport explicitly states that Mamelodi Sundowns will welcome Marumo Gallants for a fixture at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Wednesday night. This is further supported by a YouTube live stream description for the same match.

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web search NEUTRAL — Sundowns defeated Marumo Gallants 3-1 in their last meeting in March this year. Teboho Mokoena led the charge with a brace and Sundowns also benefitted from Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya own goal, while Ndab…
https://www.news24.com/sport/soccer/psl/live-psl-mamelodi-su…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns are looking to continue their unbeaten start to the new Betway Premiership campaign after a 3–2 win over TS Galaxy and a 1–1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs. Marumo Gallants, meanwhile, w…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UIQbk_mZQA

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web search NEUTRAL — Miguel Cardoso’s Mamelodi Sundowns will hope to continue their tactical evolution when they welcome Marumo Gallants for a catch-up Betway Premiership fixture, set for the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on We…
https://supersport.com/football/news/49135abc-ce51-4a24-ac84…

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Claim 5: “they won only the CAF Champions League [last season]”

CORROBORATED

iDiski Times explicitly states that the CAF Champions League was 'the only major trophy Sundowns won last season' after losing the league and other domestic competitions. This is corroborated by SuperSport reporting their win in the CAF Champions League final.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 CAF Champions League, officially the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for sponsorship purposes, will be the 63rd season of Africa's premier football club tournament organized by the Conf…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_CAF_Champions_League

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The CAF Women's Champions League (French: Ligue des Champions Féminine de la CAF; Arabic: دوري أبطال إفريقيا للسيدات), sometimes abbreviated as CAF WCL, is an annual African women's association footba…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAF_Women's_Champions_League

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “Orlando Pirates stopped Sundowns from winning what would have been their ninth league title on the bounce when they clinched their first championship in 14 years last season.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Orlando Pirates won the league title last season, ending Mamelodi Sundowns' dominance. Specifically, iDiski Times mentions Sundowns 'surrendering the Betway Premiership title to Orlando Pirates' and Daily Maverick refers to Pirates as 'newly crowned South African champions'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Academy is a women's soccer academy based in Pretoria, South Africa. The U/20 team competes in the Sasol Women's League, the second tier women's league in South Africa while t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamelodi_Sundowns_Ladies_Acade…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Orlando Pirates Football Club, referred to as simply Pirates, is a South African professional football club based in Orlando, Soweto that plays in the South African Premiership, the country's top-tier…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Pirates_F.C.

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.