Premier Soccer League: Can Sundowns be dethroned?
With the new Premier Soccer League season scheduled to kick off on the 14th of September 2024. We thought we wanted to take a look at what the odds are on each team to win the league and make some outright bets on the next champions of the Premier Soccer League.
Did You Know?
Bidvest Wits are the last team to win the Premier Soccer League title outside of Mamelodi Sundowns. The club won the league for the first and only time in May 2017, ending a league drought of 95 years. The glory days would sadly not last, with the club selling is PSL status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila at the end of the 2019-20 season as the club's major sponsors Bidvest wanted out of football.
Overview
The Premier Soccer League in its modern form was created in 1996 and was played for the first time in the 96/97 season. Manning Rangers won the inaugural Premier Soccer League title, forever cementing their name in South African Soccer history. The years that followed saw Mamelodi Sundowns pick up three titles in a row before Orlando Pirates, Santos, and then Orlando Pirates again, became champions of the new Premier Soccer League. Kaizer Chiefs would win back to back trophies in the 03/04 and 04/05 season which is legendary amongst South African soccer fans. In its first decade, the trophy would find five different homes, with Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Santos and Manning Rangers all being crown champions.
The decade that followed would see Supersports United dominate the PSL with three wins in a row between 2007 and 2010. The years that followed saw Orlando Pirates rise to the top of South African and African soccer in spectacular style, falling at the final hurdle on the continent but securing back to back league titles with one of the most celebrate Pirates sides in recent history. The end of the decade would give us a new champion Bidvest Wits winning the 2016/2017 trophy. Little did we know that, Wits would be the last team to win the PSL outside of Mamelodi Sundowns for years to come.
Just like they did in the 97/98, 98/99, and 99/00. Mamelodi Sundowns would go on to win the three remaining titles available before the turn of the decade. The departure of Pitso Mosimane would not stop them from continuing their dominance into the 2020s, winning every available league title this side of the decade. Something they had failed to do in the 2000s, with Orlando Pirates, Santos and Kaizer Chiefs causing a league trophy drought for the Pretoria Giants. This decade has been yellow and many think it will continue to be yellow despite the change in leadership. However, a new season is upon us and we need to consider the top four favourites challenging for this season's league title.
Premier Soccer League 2024/2025
The reigning champions are back to defend their crown for a seventh time in a row. The 16 times Premier Soccer League Champions have held nothing back in the relentless pursuit for perfection both domestically and on the continent. They have seen a few of their experienced players leave the club this winter. The departure of Gaston Sirino headlines a long list of players who were released or have moved on to greener pastures. However, Sundowns is not the type of team to shy away from recruiting top talent. They have recruited Brazilian striker from Belgium team Lommel SK. He is not the only player recruited from Europe, with Kobamelo Kodisang also coming in from the Portuguese Liga. It looks like the Pretoria Giants are cooking once again.
Last season's runners up are expected to do one better than they did last campaign by some members of the soccer community. Can they stop the dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns like they did in the 00/01 season? Well if Sundowns drop their standards by 23 points, Orlando Pirates may be in with a shout. However, one must remember that Orlando Pirates managed to win 2 out of the four domestic trophies available. They were crowned champions of the MTN8 and the Nedbank Cup at Mamelodi Sundown's expense on both occasions.
Pirates fans can look forward to this season, as they will playing their football on the continent alongside Mamelodi Sundowns. Only time will tell, if this will be a distraction or if it will serve as an advantage for the Soweto Giants. Pushing them to play at a higher level may improve the team altogether. One thing that is apparent to everyone involved with the club, is that Pirates is going through a transitional period, where it is out with the old and in with the new. The club has seen the departure of six players aged 30 and above. Fortune Makaringe, Vincent Pule, Thabang Monare, Richard Ofori, Kermit Erasmus and Siyabonga Mpontshane have all left the club, making room for the youngsters to come in and take up more responsibility. In my opinion, Orlando Pirates are team to watch this season.
Last season's third placed finishers, with the leagues third best attack and the leagues third best defence. In the end, Stellenbosch's fate was sealed by inconsistent form going into the final run of games at the end of the season. The three defeats they suffered at the tail end of the season, gave Orlando Pirates the platform to finish above them in second. Loses to Swallows, Mamelodi Sundowns and Relegation strugglers Richards Bay FC saw this team that was dominate for most of 2024 finish in third.
They will look to Iqraam Rayners to deliver again in front of goal this season. He managed to score 15 goals in 28 appearances in the league. Where he couldn't contribute any goals, he would find his teammates and provide an assist. finishing the season with five assists in the Nedbank cup, one in the Carling Knockout and two in the league. The Carling Knockout Champions will be looking to add to their trophy collection this season, and Rayners will be pivotal to those plans. If they manage, to keep him in their ranks. they will definitely be one of the main contenders for this season Premier Soccer League title.
I know what you are thinking. "How does a team, that finished in 10th last season, end up as a top four favourite to win the league?" Well, the 13 time Premier Soccer League Champions have been working hard to put the past behind them and look to the future with optimism. I am convinced, that the fans have finally been heard and the club is responding by making sure that the fans get what they have been asking for. Which is a World Class Management team, the Departure of players that were overpaid & under performing and lastly, the inclusion of development players in the first team. Chiefs seems to have heard the fans and have made a few notable changes in this winter. Interim Manager Johnson has left the building and he has been replaced by Nasreddine Nabi. The Tunisian Manager will be tasked with reviving Kaizer Chiefs and ending their trophy drought. I doubt his impact will be instant, but there is a lot to be excited about.
Check out our other Soccer Betting Predictions here.