Premier Soccer League

Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the trading name of the National Soccer League (NSL) of South Africa. The top league is the ABSA Premiership, sponsored by ABSA. The next highest league is the National First Division.

History

The PSL was founded by Kaizer Motaung, Irvin Khoza, Raymond Hack and Jomo Sono in 1996. Manning Rangers were the first to be crowned champions of the PSL in 1997 when the Gordon Igesund-coached side was stunning all and sundry by winning the title ahead of a number of more fancied opponents.

From 1998 to 2000 the league was dominated by Sundowns, who pulled off a hat-trick of titles.

In 2001, Igesund moved to Orlando Pirates and helped the Buccaneers secure the title. The following season he moved to Cape Town-based Santos, and steered it to win the league title, thus becoming the first coach to win the championship with three different clubs.

The 11 April 2001 marked a dark chapter in South African history when 43 people lost their lives and 158 others were injured in a stampede during a match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at an overcrowded Ellis Park Stadium.

The league was reduced from 18 to 16 teams after the end of the 2001-02 season to avoid fixture congestion, causing two teams, Ria Stars and Free State Stars, to be disbanded.

In 2004, a match-fixing scandal rocked South African soccer. An investigation codenamed "Operation Dribble" was launched by the South African police in June 2004. More than 40 arrests were made, ranging from club bosses to match commissioners, referees and their assistants.

Kaizer Chiefs successfully defended their league title in 2005 after they won the prestigious trophy in 2004 for the first time in a decade.

The 2005-06 season saw Mamelodi Sundowns capturing the title for the fourth time.

In 2007, the PSL signed a television deal with SuperSport worth R1.6-billion. It is the biggest sporting deal in the history of South Africa, and it took the PSL into the top 15 ranked leagues in the world in terms of commercial broadcast deals.

In the same year ABSA replaced Castle Lager as name sponsor.

In 2008, 2009 and 2010 Supersport United won a hat-trick of titles.

The league currently has teams in most of the country's largest cities, with Port Elizabeth being the obvious exception. The city has not had a team in the PSL since the 2008–09 Premier Soccer League, when the city's Bay United F.C. were relegated.

The league is rated as the 14th best in Africa in 2011. This is according to the CAF 5-Year Ranking system. The provisional 2012 rankings currently place them as slipping to 15th, below Niger.

CEOs

• Trevor Phillips 1996-1998
• Joe Ndlela 1998-2000 (fired)
• Robin Petersen 2000-2001 (resigned)
• Trevor Phillips 2002-2007
• Kjetil Siem 2007-2011
• Zola Majavu 2011 (resigned)
• Stanley Matthews 2012-

Sponsorship

Since its inception in 1996, the Premier Soccer League has been sponsored. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

• 1996-07: Castle Lager (Castle Premiership)
• 2007-: ABSA (ABSA Premiership)

Format

There are sixteen clubs in the Premier League. During the course of a season (which lasts from August to May) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 30 games for each club. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a defeat.

The champion of the Premier Soccer League advances to the Orange CAF Champions League, while the Nedbank Cup champions advance to the CAF Confederation Cup, which is the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.

The bottom team in the ABSA Premiership is automatically relegated. The team finishing 15th on the log enters a playoff with the loser of the promotion playoff between the winner of the Coastal Stream and the Inland Stream and the two teams who ended the season in second spot in the two streams.

Media coverage

The league's main broadcast partner is Super Sport. Supersport have in turn sub leased the rights to certain matches to the SABC, so that matches can be shown on public television.

Supersport broadcast matches on Wednesday and Friday nights, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays. The SABC broadcast Wednesday afternoon matches, as well as Saturday and Sunday matches.

2011-12 season

Clubs

• Ajax Cape Town
• AmaZulu
• Bidvest Wits
• Black Leopards (promoted)
• Bloemfontein Celtic
• Free State Stars
• Golden Arrows
• Jomo Cosmos (promoted)
• Kaizer Chiefs
• Mamelodi Sundowns
• Maritzburg United
• Moroka Swallows
• Orlando Pirates
• Platinum Stars
• Santos
• SuperSport United

Past seasons

Previous Winners, Runners-up and Relegated/Promoted Teams

Most league titles

Manager records

League winning managers

League records

• Ever presents (474 matches): Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, Moroka Swallows, Orlando Pirates, SuperSport United
• Most PSL titles: 5 – Mamelodi Sundowns (1997/98), (1998/99), (1999/00), (2005/06), (2006/07)
• Biggest PSL win: 8-1 – SuperSport United vs Zulu Royals (2003/04)
• Most wins: 237 - Mamelodi Sundowns
• Most draws: 154 - Orlando Pirates
• Most defeats: 167 - Moroka Swallows
• Most goals scored in a season: 73 – Kaizer Chiefs (1998/99)
• Most goals conceded in a season: 85 – Mother City (1999/00)
• Most points in a season: 75 – Mamelodi Sundowns (1999/00)

League participants

Top goalscorers

Current products

Footballers who have previously played for PSL clubs, and currently play for clubs in other confederations. Players are currently at these teams.

Founder Members

See also

• MTN 8
• Telkom Knockout
• Nedbank Cup
• National First Division
• Vodacom League

External links

• Official Website
• Premier Soccer League (PSL) Official Website
• South African Football Association (SAFA) Official Website
• Confederation of African Football (CAF) Official Website
• RSSSF competition history

References