Grant Kekana: Sundowns Soccer Centre Back, Club, Caps and Net Worth

Born Gomolemo Grant Kekana in Polokwane on 31 October 1992, Grant Kekana is the South African centre back who joined Mamelodi Sundowns from SuperSport United in 2021 and wears the number 20 shirt. He was named PSL Defender of the Season for 2023/24 and won a bronze medal with Bafana Bafana at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, following his international debut in 2021. Grant and Gomolemo are the same defender, so whichever name you searched, you have found the right man.

Kekana came through the Tuks youth set-up before spells with SuperSport United from 2010 to 2013 and 2015 to 2021. During his time at Sundowns, the club won four Premiership titles and the 2025/26 CAF Champions League. His South Africa career adds an international dimension to that club record. The modules above carry his appearances and the Sundowns log position, while the sections below cover his career milestones and explain the limits of public information about his earnings.

Who Is Grant Kekana?

Grant Kekana is a South African centre back, 1.79 m tall, who came through the University of Pretoria youth set-up before playing for SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns. His full name is Gomolemo Grant Kekana, and South African supporters use both names, which is why a search for Gomolemo Kekana leads to the same player. He was born in Polokwane, and his mother is Pinky Kekana, a South African Deputy Minister. That connection has turned his biggest milestones into family stories as well as soccer ones.

For Sundowns supporters, he is part of the defensive spine of the Masandawana side that won four consecutive Premiership titles from 2021/22 to 2024/25 during his time at the club. His 2023/24 Defender of the Season award came on a night when Sundowns' Ronwen Williams was named Soccer Player of the Season. Readers in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda might compare him with a dependable club centre half of the kind the Super Eagles, Harambee Stars, Black Stars or Cranes rely on. His value shows in clean sheets more than in highlight reels, and in my opinion that is exactly how a defender should be judged.

The Road From Polokwane to SuperSport and Sundowns

Kekana came through the University of Pretoria youth system, known as Tuks, and joined SuperSport United in 2010. His first spell lasted until 2013 and included 32 league appearances. It put him in a Premiership dressing room while he was still a teenager.

SuperSport brought him back in 2015, and his second spell ran for six seasons and 96 league appearances until 2021. In that stretch, Matsatsantsa turned him into an established Premiership defender. He earned his first Bafana Bafana call in 2021, the same year he joined Mamelodi Sundowns and took the number 20 shirt.

The table records his two SuperSport spells and his move to Sundowns. Use the club data module for Sundowns appearance totals. Together, those records trace his progress from youth soccer at Tuks to senior roles with two Pretoria clubs.

What Has Kekana Won With Sundowns?

Kekana's arrival preceded Sundowns' Premiership triumph in 2021/22, with further league honours following in 2022/23, then 2023/24 and finally 2024/25. Sundowns also won the 2025/26 CAF Champions League. The league titles began with his first season at the club. In my view, sustained success over those campaigns reflects the contribution of defenders as well as forwards. Preventing goals helps turn close contests into the results needed to finish top of the log.

Morocco's AS FAR were Sundowns' opponents in the 2025/26 continental final. The Pretoria leg on 17 May 2026 ended with a single unanswered Sundowns goal; the Rabat return on 24 May 2026 produced a goal apiece, securing a 2 to 1 aggregate victory for the South African club. Teboho Mokoena scored the equaliser in Morocco seven minutes into stoppage time before the interval. Miguel Cardoso guided Sundowns to their second title in the competition, a decade after their 2016 triumph. The 2026 victory carried a record prize of USD 6 million, alongside qualification for the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and that year's CAF Super Cup.

What Does Grant Kekana Do on the Pitch?

Kekana plays as a centre back, and his value is measured in what does not happen: the shot that is blocked, the runner who is tracked, the goal that is never conceded. At 1.79 m he is not built like a giant. Perhaps that is why his positioning and his reading of the game have carried so much of his reputation. Those qualities matter most against Premiership forwards who play on the turn.

His defining season was 2023/24, which ended with the PSL Defender of the Season award at the PSL Awards on 23 June 2024. He beat Orlando Pirates' Tapelo Xoki and Stellenbosch's Deano van Rooyen to the award. Afterwards he credited both men for pushing him, which was a generous touch towards two rivals from different clubs. Sundowns' Ronwen Williams received the season's top individual player award at the same ceremony, so the Downs back line was honoured from goal outwards.

Kekana's international standing also grew during January and February 2024, when Ivory Coast hosted the 2023 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. Kekana was in the South Africa squad that finished third, the country's first semi final in 24 years. A tournament like that tests a defender over a short, intense run, where one lapse can end a campaign. Bafana came home with bronze, a strong answer to that test.

When you read the modules above, I would look at goals conceded and clean sheets alongside appearances. For a centre back, those measures help explain the team's defensive results, although they also reflect the goalkeeper and the players around him.

Kekana and Bafana Bafana: Debut, AFCON Bronze and the Caps Module

Kekana made his South Africa debut in 2021. The caps module carries his international appearances and goals, with its update date providing the reference point for comparisons with other defenders.

His proudest international moment came at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, where Bafana Bafana won the bronze medal. When he brought the medal home in February 2024, his mother, Deputy Minister Pinky Kekana, publicly celebrated his achievement. The family celebration helped connect that campaign with supporters beyond the pitch.

Kekana was not in South Africa's final squad for the 2026 World Cup. Bafana Bafana reached the Round of 32 before their campaign ended.

Grant Kekana net worth

Briefly (Sports Brief) publishes no net worth figure for Grant Kekana in its article published in 2023 and updated in March 2026; its reported financial figure is an estimated Mamelodi Sundowns salary of ZAR 200,000 to 300,000 a month. For rough illustration, using assumed conversion rates of 80 Nigerian naira, 7.5 Kenyan shillings, 210 Ugandan shillings and 0.65 Ghanaian cedi per rand, that monthly salary range is about NGN 16 million to 24 million, KES 1.5 million to 2.25 million, UGX 42 million to 63 million and GHS 130,000 to 195,000. These are illustrative conversions, not dated exchange rate quotations. The salary figures are published estimates, not accounts or confirmed earnings.

For image rights, Briefly (Sports Brief), in its March 2026 update, supplies no separate income figure. For market value, the same outlet's March 2026 update supplies no estimate. For endorsements, Briefly (Sports Brief) names no deals or income figures in that update. There are therefore no reported amounts in those categories to convert into naira, shillings, rand or cedi. Missing figures do not mean those amounts are zero. Salary is income over a stated period, image rights and endorsements concern commercial income, and market value estimates a player's transfer value. Net worth means assets minus liabilities, so none of these figures alone establishes his personal wealth.

The record USD 6 million prize attached to Sundowns' 2025/26 Champions League victory was a club award. It cannot be treated as Kekana's personal earnings or used to calculate his wealth.

His public activities include the Grant Kekana Foundation, which aims to open up opportunities for underprivileged children. He has used golf events to raise money for it. That work provides a clearer account of his community involvement than an unverified wealth estimate.

How to Watch Kekana From Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda

You can follow Kekana through Mamelodi Sundowns' Premiership, cup and CAF Champions League matches, and through Bafana Bafana's internationals. The broadcasters and streams for each country are listed in the viewing module beside each fixture, because rights change from season to season. Most supporters across the continent watch African club soccer through pay TV and mobile streams, so check the listing before kick off rather than assuming last season's channel.

Kick off times follow four time zones. South Africa uses SAST (GMT plus 2), Nigeria uses WAT (GMT plus 1), Ghana uses GMT, and Kenya and Uganda use EAT (GMT plus 3). A 19:30 SAST kick off is therefore 17:30 GMT, 18:30 WAT and 20:30 EAT. The fixtures module shows all four together, so viewers in Accra and Kampala can plan without doing the sums.

When you search a listing, use the competition names: the PSL Premiership for the South African league, CAF Champions League for the continental competition, and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying for Bafana's internationals. For more profiles of African soccer players in the Premiership and beyond, open the players index and filter by club. Then use the fixtures module to find Sundowns kick off times in your own time zone.