12 SA PSL Stats&Figures: Know Your League

The South African Premier Division (referred to as the Absa Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of South African football league system.  The league was founded in 1996 after an agreement between the National Soccer League (South Africa) and the remnants of the National Professional Soccer League. 

• 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. 
• There  are 240 games Premier Soccer League games per season with 30 games per team every season.
• Mamelodi Sundowns have won the most Premier League titles of the modern era with (9) titles, Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando are placed second on (4) titles each, Supersport (3) and Manning Rangers, Santos and Bidvest Wits on (1) title each.

• In 2007, the PSL signed a television deal with pay per view television broadcaster Supersport worth R1.6-billion. It is the biggest sporting deal in the history of South Africa, and it took the Premier Division into the top 15 ranked leagues in the world in terms of commercial broadcast deals.
• The PSL gives each club a monthly grant of 2 million Rands, with funds coming from the television broadcasting rights and national sponsorships.
• The Premier Soccer League has confirmed a total of R39.9 million in prize money for the upcoming 2019/20 Absa Premiership season. The club crowned champions will take home R15 million and the runners up will receive R7,5 million in a review of the total prize money from last season.
• Pitso Mosimane is the first and only black South African manager to win the league, in 2013-14 season.
• Gavin Hunt is the manager that has retained the title the most times; (3) with Supersport United in 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 seasons.
• Chippa United coach Norman Mapeza appointed last week at the Port Elizabeth based club will become the 233rd different coach to take charge of a club in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era‚ which stretches back to 1996.
• Mapeza is the 115th foreign coach and the 10th from Zimbabwe to work in the PSL‚ following in the footsteps of 2002/3 PSL winner Roy Barreto‚ Sunday Chidzambwa‚ Ian Gorowa‚ Bruce Grobbelaar‚ Wilfred Mugeyi‚ William Mugeyi‚ Shepherd Murape‚ Peter Nyama and MTN8 winner Kaitano Tembo.
• Of the 233 coaches‚ just over half have been local. 118 South Africans are almost matched by the 115 foreigners‚ who have come from 38 different countries. Half the 16 top flight clubs this season 2019/2020 have local coaches and the other half are foreign.

• 13 English coaches‚ 12 from the Netherlands and 10 from Serbia, 5 Brazilians‚ 4 Germans‚ 4 French‚1 Italian and 1 Spaniard. 13 coaches have come from different African countries.

By Gerald Dandah