Premier Soccer League - PSL Pack Leaders

Founded in 1996, South Africa’s globally recognized Premier Soccer League (PSL), now also known as the DStv Premiership after MultiChoice announced the new league sponsor, DStv, in September 2020, has captured the hearts, minds and souls of our local and also not-so-local fanatics.

The league comprises 16 teams competing from August to May, following a similar format of the mainstream European football leagues, where each team plays their opponent twice in a double round-robin format. At the end of each season, the winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League, while the 3rd-place team qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup.

More notedly, the PSL also plays host to the biggest sporting rivalry on the African continent and easily considered its most infamous clash - the Soweto Derby where two of South Africa’s fiercest footballing rivals, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, both hailing from the historically rich township of Soweto, meet for  this epic battle. A rivalry that was first contested as far back as January 1970, when a former Orlando Pirates star, Kaizer Motaung, founded the Kaizer Chiefs FC.

Although 16 teams are competing, there are a select few who have left a lasting legacy and even more so, are fierce contestants to clinch the title, namely Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United. Let’s take a closer look at some of this league's Big Dogs!

• Orlando Pirates aka Sea Robbers or The Buccaneers,  was founded in 1937 hailing from the historic township of Orlando, Soweto, has one of the largest fan bases in South Africa rivaled only by that of their fierce rivals Kaizer Chiefs. The Buccaneers had an incredible year during the success by winning the 2010–11 season, silencing all doubt with cup triumphs in the PSL, The Nedbank Cup, The MTN 8 Cup and The Telkom Knockout. This was dubbed Pirates "The Happy Year".
• Kaizer Chiefs aka Amakhosi or more recently known as the Glamour Boys, also hailing from Soweto was established in 1970, as former Orlando Pirates star, Kaizer Motaung, defected and founded the team due to internal politics. Amakhosi won the prestigious PSL title 4 times, winning the trophy in 2004 for the first time in 10 years, then subsequently defending the title in 2005, 2013 and 2015.
• Mamelodi Sundowns aka The Brazilians hold the record for the most title wins with a tally of a boastful 13 PSL wins starting way back in ‘98 with a margin of +5 in goal difference was what separated Sundowns and Chiefs being tied at the top for first place. This marked Sundowns second win in what would become a hat-trick of PSL titles until 2000. The 2005–06 season saw them recapture the title for a fourth time and successfully defend it yet again in the 2006-2007 season. Since the 2017–18 season to date, they have dominated the league, consecutively winning title after title. 
• SuperSport United was founded in 1994 when M-Net Television purchased a struggling Pretoria City FC in hopes to transform the team and club and subsequently announced the new team name, SuperSport United FC. Since 1997 SuperSport United have been relatively consistent performers in the PSL and in 1999 they won the Nedbank Cup, South Africa’s equivalent of the FA Cup, beating Kaizer Chiefs in the final. They then went on to win 3 consecutive PSL titles between 2007 and 2010. 

Honourable mention: Cape Town City FC founded in 1962 have left a lasting impression on the PSL. Hailing from the scenic city of Cape Town, The Citizens, as they are commonly referred to, have certainly made their presence known and risen through the ranks winning various major tournaments like the Telkom Knockout Cup in 2016, leaving SuperSport United in their wake defeating them 2-1 in the final and the MTN 8 in 2018.

Currently the top of the PSL (DStv Premiership) Table doesn’t look too different to that of yesteryears, with the formidable Mamelodi Sundowns, who find themselves unbeaten and topping the table with SuperSport United and Cape Town City FC trailing closely behind in second and third place, respectively. Orlando Pirates are on the prowl and are primed to reach the top spot as they continue their PSL campaign. Want to get a little closer to the PSL and soccer betting action? Sportingbet South Africa has brought all the latest PSL action and other local leagues straight to your fingertips!

To place football/soccer bets, head over to Sportingbet and select ‘Football’ from the top navigation bar. Here you will be presented with the ‘Top Competitions’ window in the top left corner of the screen which includes a link to the Premier Soccer League. All current and up-coming events as well as respective odds are presented in the centre of your screen. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular soccer betting odds or markets on offer - 

• Match Result/WDW: This is the Win/Draw/Win market also known as a match result market - Simply place your bet on a team to either win or draw the match.
• Over/Under Total Goals: Place your bet on whether you feel the match will end in a scoreline over or under a specified amount.
• First Team To Score: Place your bet on a team you think will score first in the match. *Regular time only.
• Both Teams To Score: Place your bet on this market if you think both teams will score during the match. *Regular time only.
  

Who do you think will be top of the pack as this season’s PSL action heats up? Whether you’re upping The Bucs with the Sea Robbers - Orlando Pirates, part of the ‘Love & Peace’ squad of the Amakhosi’s - Kaizer Chiefs or a member of the Cape Town City FC Citizen’s club, Sportingbet has all the International and local soccer betting action with the latest soccer odds, ready and waiting for you!