National Premier Soccer League (South Africa)

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) was the title of a South African association football league, between 1971 and 1995. During those years, the league however had three completely different organisations. In 1971-77 it was only for Black South African teams. Then it merged with National Football League (NFL), which previously had been organised only for White South African players in 1959-77. The two leagues together formed a new topflight "non-racial" football league in 1978-84 (also named NPSL), where the "white teams" were allowed to field a maximum of 3 black players. Due to boardroom disagreements, there was however a split of the league in January 1985. The major part of the federation decided to found the new National Soccer League (NSL) in accordance with anti-apartheid principles, while the remaining part of NPSL continued to co-exist as an independent league, until it folded in December 1995. When NPSL folded, the few remaining teams continued to play the next 1996-97 season in the "2nd Division of NSL", which at that point of time became renamed to the National First Division.

When the league folded in December 1995, the few remaining teams continued to play for next season, at the second level of South African football, known as National First Division.^[1]

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