Kaizer Chiefs’ success in the Nedbank Cup over the weekend has sent reminders about their dominance in cup finals in the Big Three family.
The latest Nedbank Cup final was contested by Chiefs and Pirates – who make up two thirds of the Big Three clubs in domestic football who also include Mamelodi Sundowns.
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These are the three clubs with the biggest fan base and who have dominated football in South Africa with Chiefs tops in cup competitions while Sundowns rule in the league.
From the PSL era years – effective August 1996 – Amakhosi have won 17 out of 26 finals following their latest success in the Nedbank Cup.
This gives them a 65% success rate in cup finals and includes the three that they have played on the continent in the CAF Champions League, CAF Winners’s Cup and CAF Super Cup.
Prior to this weekend, AmaKhosi had not known about cup competition joy since September 2014 when they edged Orlando Pirates in the MTN8 final which was also played at Moses Mabhida.
Their first cup success in the PSL era years was the 1997 Rothmans Cup.
Chiefs’ PSL era trophy total inclusive of their four league titles now stands at 21.
For Pirates – who have won five of the six finals they have played under Jose Riveiro in domestic knockout football – they are now up to 24 cup finals with 13 wins.
They have also lost all three cup finals on the continent through the PSL era years – one in the Champions League and two in the CAF Confederation Cup.
This means their cup final success rate stands at 48%.
Inclusive of their four league titles, Pirates are on 17 trophies in the PSL era years with this total minus the 1996 BP Top 8 and CAF Super Cup of the same year which were played before August 1996 when the PSL came into effect.
Then for Sundowns, from their count of 25 finals on the domestic scene to date, the Chloorkop-based club has won 10.
They have also played four finals on the continent and won three – the CAF Champions League, African Football League, and the CAF Super Cup.
This then gives them a total of 13 wins out of 29 with the 2024/2025 Champions League final coming up against Pyramids.
Their most recent final appearance was the 2024 Carling KnockOut Cup which they lost to Magesi.
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The Brazilians success rate in finals is at 45% which means they lose more than they win in trophy deciders.
However, Sundowns make up by dominating in the league with 14 titles pushing their total of trophies won to 27.
