The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...
soccer leagues-and-cups administrator in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
based in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...
and founded in 1996 following an agreement between the
National Soccer League and the remnants of the
National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).
Affiliated to the
South African Football Association (SAFA), the PSL organizes the country's top two professional divisions in the
DStv Premiership and the
Motsepe Foundation Championship and
knockout cup competitions in the
Nedbank Cup
The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...
and the
MTN 8. Teams that are relegated from the National First Division compete in the
SAFA Second Division. They also organize a Youth League or Reserve League DStv Diski Challenge.
Organization
The Premier Soccer League sell the naming rights of their competitions to a
title sponsor
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
.
They had previously organized
Charity Cup
The Charity Cup (known as the ASB Charity Cup for sponsorship reasons) is New Zealand's association football super cup, which takes place on annual basis.
The competition was founded in 1978 as the NZFA Challenge Trophy. The Champions of the N ...
, a one-day, four team, season-opening cup competition, which ran from 1986 to
2010. The
Baymed Cup was open to First Division sides, but the competition was terminated after a single edition in
2006.
League licenses
Licenses to participate in the Premier Soccer League can be bought and sold on the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
. In August 2002, the PSL bought two Premier Division licences from the owners of
Ria Stars F.C. and
Free State Stars F.C., the PSL dissolved the license to ease fixture congestion and reduce their own costs by R 400, 000 per month as each top-tier club received R 200, 000 on a monthly basis from the PSL. The two clubs were purchased for R 8 million. The two clubs had differing fates, Ria Stars never appeared again whilst Free State Stars bought the league license from
Maholosiane F.C., a team participating in the National First Division in the
2002–03 season and earned promotion to the top tier in
the 2003–04 season.
Structure
The NSL is the only special member of the South African Football Association. The NSL has 32 members; the 16 clubs from the Premier Division and 16 clubs from the First division who together form the Board of governors. The Board of governors is the supreme body and its functions are stated in Article 13 of the NSL constitution. The Board of governors elects the chairman and the executive committee, it is empowered to delegate management and operational functions to the executive committee. The executive committee consists of 8 elected members and the chief executive officer. The Executive is appointed for a period of four years at the quadrennial general meeting. The Executive delegates some of its operational functions to the CEO.
References
External links
{{South African soccer seasons
Sports leagues established in 1996
1996 establishments in South Africa
Professional sports leagues in South Africa