Mamelodi Sundowns chairman Tlhopie Motsepe has explained how they managed to become the first African club to compete at the U15 Kevin De Bruyne Cup.
The tournament, established by the Manchester City star midfielder in 2016, was initially consisting of European clubs but expanded to a global competition, with the invitation of clubs in Africa and South America.
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The Brazilians' U15 side had a tough start to the two-day tournament over the weekend, with 12 teams participating after they were thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona but redeemed themselves with a famous 2-0 victory over Manchester City and qualified for the quarter-finals.
However, the South African outfit were routed 7-1 by Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarter-finals and finished in eighth spot in the tournament after a 2-1 loss in the play-off game against Danish side Odense.
Motsepe has explained how they became the first African side to compete at the prestigious tournament.
"So, the Kevin De Bruyne tournament invitation came about through our partnership with our friends and family from Roc Nation," Motsepe said via the club's media department.
"It was something that was always important for us as a football club, to leverage through this commercial partnership and allow us to gain entry into new markets, both in terms of speaking to new sponsors.
"But more important than that, growing the club's relationships and giving our academy the opportunity to venture off, play in different fields, different lands, that's how things materialized through our discussions. We made this a priority for the year," he said.
The young chairman continued and expressed delight in being the first African club to have participated in the highly-rated KDB Cup.
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"We're excited to be the first African team to get the opportunity. We're so excited and honoured. We know that there are many clubs across the world that vie for the opportunity to be among the 12 teams to participate," he went on.
"And being the first from our continent, it's something that doesn't put ourselves under pressure to hold but it's definitely something we carry with pride," he added.
