South African Premier Division
| Country |
 South Africa
|
|---|---|
| Confederation | CAF |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | National First Division |
| Domestic cup(s) |
Nedbank Cup Telkom Knockout MTN 8 |
| International cup(s) |
Champions League Confederation Cup |
| Current champions |
Mamelodi Sundowns (7th title) |
| Most championships | Mamelodi Sundowns (7 titles) |
| TV partners | SuperSport, SABC1 |
| Website | www.psl.co.za |
 2016–17 South African Premier Division
|
|
The South African Premier Division (referred to as the Absa Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of South African football league system. As the division is the top level of association football in South Africa, it is often referred to as the PSL – the name of the league's administrator.
The Premier Soccer League, South Africa's "administrator of professional football in the Republic of South Africa" refer to the competition as the "Premier Division" in their constitution.
The league was founded in 1996 after an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnants of the National Premier 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.
In 2004, a match-fixing scandal rocked South African football. An investigation codenamed "Operation Dribble" was launched by the South African police in June 2004. More than 40 arrests were made, ranging from club bosses to match commissioners, referees and their assistants.
Kaizer Chiefs successfully defended their league title in 2005 after they won the prestigious trophy in 2004 for the first time in a decade.
The 2005–06 season saw Mamelodi Sundowns capturing the title for the fourth time.
In 2007, the PSL signed a television deal with 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.
In the same year ABSA replaced Castle Lager as name sponsor.
In 2008, 2009 and 2010 Supersport United won a hat-trick of titles.
The league currently has teams in most of the country's largest cities, with Port Elizabeth being the obvious exception. The city has not had a team in the league since the 2008–09 Premier Soccer League, when the city's Bay United F.C. were relegated.
...
Wikipedia