This was confirmed by the league chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza, who indicated that the league had agreed to release De Villiers and also took the opportunity to thank him for his leadership.
Addressing the media following the National Soccer League Annual General Meeting in Johannesburg on 10 November, Khoza said De Villiers had done a great job since taking over the league.
“We are sad to announce the resignation of our CEO but, however, we know he will not be lost to our industry.
“The PSL executive committee was approached by one of our partners about the services of Mr De Villiers, and following deliberations we agreed to release him from his contract. We wish him all the best.”
De Villiers said, “It has been a privilege to serve the Premier Soccer League for the last two-and-a-half years. I have enjoyed this experience and I leave with a lot of memories.
“More importantly, I leave the PSL having built some good relationships.” He expressed his gratitude to Khoza, the executive committee and the 32 PSL clubs for having given him the opportunity to serve football. He also expressed gratitude to the staff of the PSL for their unwavering support throughout his tenure.
The PSL would not disclose which partner of the PSL De Villiers was headed to, but suspicions are that he’s most likely going to MultiChoice.
The league’s CEO position has always been a somewhat hot potato. In the past decade, the league had more than five CEOs departing, one of them, Zola Majavu, did not even last a month in the hot seat. British national Trevor Phillips spent two terms at the helm while Joe Ndhlela left under a cloud, and Albert Mokoena, who is now with basketball, also had a short stint as CEO.
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