Mamelodi Sundowns join list of defending champions eliminated before CAF Champions League group stage

Mamelodi Sundowns have become the latest defending champions to suffer an early exit from the CAF Champions League after failing to overcome Angolan side Wiliete in the second round.

The South African giants were held to a 1-1 draw at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Friday, with Wiliete progressing on the away-goals rule to eliminate last season’s winners.

The result is particularly notable because Wiliete are making their first appearance in the competition, while Sundowns’ elimination marks the 10th time a defending champion has failed to reach the group stage since the Champions League was introduced in 1997.

Other former winners to suffer similar setbacks include Raja Casablanca in 2000, Ghana’s Hearts of Oak in 2001, Etoile Sahel in 2008, Al Ahly in 2002, 2009 and 2014, TP Mazembe in 2016, and Zamalek in 2023. TP Mazembe were also disqualified in 2011 for fielding an ineligible player.

Hearts of Oak endured a particularly painful title defence in 2001, falling to Congolese side Etoile du Congo in the first round. The Ghanaian club lost 6-4 on aggregate after suffering a 5-1 defeat in the return leg.

Apart from TP Mazembe’s disqualification, the other clubs were eliminated in the qualifying round immediately before the group stage.

Defending champions have also suffered notable early exits in the competition’s predecessor, the African Champions Cup, which was played on a two-legged knockout basis before the introduction of the group stage.

In 1982, Algeria’s JS Kabylie were eliminated by Sudanese side Al Hilal on penalties in the first round.

Two years later, Angolan club Primeiro Maio, also from Benguela like Wiliete, stunned Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko with a 3-2 aggregate victory.

One of the most remarkable upsets came in 1989 when Algeria’s Entente Sétif, the defending champions, were knocked out by Sierra Leone’s Mighty Blackpool.

The tie ended 1-1 on aggregate before Mighty Blackpool won 5-3 on penalties to send the holders out in the first round.

Sundowns’ elimination adds another chapter to the competition’s history of defending champions struggling to maintain their continental dominance.