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MAMELODI Sundowns have extended their record number of DStv Premiership wins to 14, but it remains a statistical oddity that only five clubs have managed multiple league title victories in the 50-year history of the domestic competition.

Sundowns’ 2020-21 victory is their fourth in a row, also a new record in South African football, and puts them two wins ahead of Kaizer Chiefs, the next highest on the list with 12 league titles.

Chiefs have for years styled themselves as South Africa’s most successful club, and that remains true on number of trophies won, but recent success has arguably put Sundowns ahead of them in the eyes of many.

The Brazilians now have more league titles, the most cherished prize in the local game, and their 2016 CAF Champions League success also outshines anything Chiefs have achieved in the past.

The only five sides that have won multiple league titles since the competition was first played in 1971 are Sundowns, Chiefs, Orlando Pirates (9), SuperSport United (3) and Durban City (2).

In England and France, there have been eight multiple champions over the same 50-year period, Germany seven, and Spain and Italy six, suggesting the DStv Premiership could do with a little more competition.

Of the teams with single league trophy successes, Bidvest Wits, Durban Bush Bucks, Highlands Park, Lusitano, Manning Rangers, Rangers (Johannesburg) and Santos are no longer in the professional ranks.

Only AmaZulu, Cape Town Spurs and Jomo Cosmos are still competing in the top two tiers of the South African football pyramid, and of those only Usuthu are an elite league club.

LEAGUE TITLE WINS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mamelodi Sundowns 14
Kaizer Chiefs 12
Orlando Pirates 9
SuperSport United 3
Durban City 2
AmaZulu 1
Bidvest Wits 1
Cape Town Spurs 1
Durban Bush Bucks 1
Highlands Park 1
Jomo Cosmos 1
Lusitano 1
Manning Rangers 1
Rangers (Johannesburg) 1
Santos 1