Envy of rival SA football fanatics
Sundowns’ die-hard fan’s vision of stateof-the-art centre
If you’re a social media native and support the country’s most dominant team, Sundowns, or Masandawana as their legions of fans call them, you would have probably come across beautiful images of the team’s “village” on the internet.
The designs made fans of rival teams believe Sundowns was about to eclipse the likes of Kaizer Chiefs’ Naturena and Cape Town Spurs’ Ikamva. However, this is imaginary work of Mulalo Negondeni, popularly known as “Nego”.
Negondeni studied civil and engineering in building construction at Vhembe TVET college. His creative designs have captured world-wide recognition including from the likes of Zambian football legend Wedson Nyirenda, who on Tuesday marvelled when Negondeni posted a tweet with the sample of Mamelodi Sundowns’ state-of-the-art training centre.
Speaking to
Sunday World, the
28-year-old from
Mukula village in Limpopo said his love for the 12-time champions of South Africa’s top-flight influenced him to do something that could make his work recognised by the big Masandawana family.
“I love designing and I wanted to merge both my love for design and Mamelodi Sundowns into one channel, this is where the concept of designing a state-of-the-art training centre for my club came about. “Sundowns is one of the best clubs in the country, and it is also one of the top of five best teams on the continent. They have set a good example and I thought something unique needs to be done to celebrate their achievements,” he said. “I want the sports facility of Sundowns to be matched with one of the best clubs in the world like Manchester City, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid.” Asked if he has engaged the club following his exclusive work, Negondeni said he tried to get hold of club officials to bring his concept to their attention, and he hoped he would get a positive response.