South Africa is one of the top African teams leading in soccer. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) administers the National First Division and the South African Premier Division. It is the major soccer sports association in the country.
Last year, PSL earned more than R1 billion. Read on to learn more about the sports association’s History and its new revenue record.
History
The National Professional Soccer League and the National Soccer League formed an agreement in 1996. They founded the Premier Soccer League. PSL reduced to 16 teams in 2002 to prevent fixture congestion. It resulted in the disbandment of Free State Stars and Ria Stars. South African soccer has a gross match-fixing scandal in 2004. The South African police conducted an Operation Dribble investigation in June 2004 to curb the vice. They arrested many referees, assistant referees, club managers, and match commissioners.
Castle Lager sponsored PSL from 1996 to 2007. It changed the league’s name to the Castle Premiership. ABSA signed a deal with PSL in 2007 to sponsor the soccer league. It changed its name to ABSA Premiership.
The Premier Soccer League’s AGM
The Premier Soccer League held its AGM on 14 November 2019 in Kempton Park. A delegation from the German Bundesliga attended the meeting. PSL declared that its revenue for the 2018/2019 season had reached R1 billion. The world is undergoing tough economic conditions but the Soccer League managed to break its previous revenue records. Soccer fans can get PSL weekly updates from different sportsbooks. Last year’s revenue rose by 7 percent to R1, 005 billion.
The South African sports association has signed more broadcast rights contracts with various sports channels in the recent past. Also, it has increased its sponsorship revenue. Dr. Irvin Khoza, the league’s chairman celebrated the new revenue record with the PSL Board of Governors members. He urged the board to make a significant contribution to the country’s economy.
South Africa is experiencing a recession now. Its economy is worsening each year. The citizens have learned to coexist with people from different races since the 1990s. The recession has forced many sports associations to reduce their external marketing expenditure. It might reduce the number of sponsorship renewals that reputable companies make with sports associations.
Khoza advised the PSL board members to appreciate and understand their sponsors’ needs and value proposition of the Premier Soccer League. He said that the association should improve its content appeal to widen its NSL audience and attract more sponsors.
Sources of PSL’s Revenue
PSL generated most of its revenue from sponsorship deals. It has seven broadcast partners and official sponsors including Absa, GladAfrica, MTN, Nedbank, MultiChoice, SuperSport and Telkom. GladAfrica signed a five years contract with PSL to sponsor the National First Division.
PSL formed an agreement with the National Professional Soccer League and the National Soccer League to form the South African Premier Division in 1996. Many South African soccer fans associate PSL with the South African Football Association (SAFA). The sports association earned R1 billion in the 2018/2019 season.
