PSL chairman Irvin Khoza says there will be a new merit system to award teams for winning the league. Picture: Muzi Ntombela, BackpagePix
Cape Town – The Premier Soccer League (PSL) will soon adopt a system which will reward clubs for winning South Africa’s foremost domestic competition, the Premiership.
Speaking at Sunday’s virtual awards ceremony, the PSL chairman Irvin Khoza said the time has come to acknowledge and reward clubs for winning the league.
Khoza said clubs went to great lengths to ensure that they field strong teams, capable of winning the country’s foremost competition.
He added that Mamelodi Sundowns was a perfect example of how to run a club so that it was in a position to dominate. He explained that Sundowns showed professionalism in all aspects of how a Premiership club should be run.
Khoza said the German Bundesliga had a star allocation based on the number of titles a club has won. Some years ago, Bundesliga introduced a rule for the golden stars appearing on the shirts of the German clubs. The stars above the club crest are a symbol of the number of championship titles since the inauguration of the Bundesliga in 1963.
The PSL has not yet finalised the format for awarding stars.
“We have to come up with a recognition, which is benchmarked along the likes of the Bundesliga,” said Khoza.
“Any team winning three titles will be entitled to one star such as a five-pointed star above their badge.
“Say if you have six titles and upward, you'll have two stars. It’s three stars from 10 trophies and from 20 trophies it’s four stars.
“Mamelodi Sundowns will be the first team in the new era we’re recognising with that award for having won six trophies in a row. I say well done to Masandawana: you are a trailblazer."
The good news for the rest of the clubs, other than Sundowns, is that their feats will also be acknowledged. The recognition will span across the cup competitions as well as the league.
"The executive committee said as a league, ‘let us also recognise those teams since 1971 who’ve achieved the same feat. We'll do the necessary thing to recognise them’.
“More importantly, we have also decided as executive committee to have to give replica trophies since 1971 of all the competitions they’ve won. They can display these in their trophy room, to show something as a motivation.
"It will be a part of their introduction to their respective teams or tourism. So that is in the pipeline.”
This development by the PSL could be a morale-booster for Kaizer Chiefs who have been trophyless for eight seasons. Chiefs have, however, been one of the most successful clubs in years gone by, and when the PSL implement their latest initiatives, their long-suffering supporters will have reason to smile again.
Khoza also announced the Special Chairman’s award for the late Peter 'Squire' Mancer and Alex 'Goldfinger' Shakoane.
Mancer was the PSL's marketing guru and for many years was Khoza's righthand man. He passed away earlier this year.
Shakoane, who passed on earlier this month, was the long-serving communications manager of Sundowns.
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