1997–98 Premier Soccer League
The 1997–98 Premier Soccer League, known as the 1997–98 Castle Premiership for sponsorship purposes, was the second season of the Premier Soccer League since its establishment in 1996. The season began on 1 August 1997 and ended on 13 May 1998. Mamelodi Sundowns won their first PSL title and their fourth South African title after previously winning the PSL's predecessor - the National Soccer League - on three occasions (1988, 1990 and 1993). This victory would be the first in a hat-trick of PSL titles for Sundowns, as the team from Pretoria would go on to dominate the league for the next two seasons.
As in the inaugural season, the league was contested by 18 teams, sixteen returning from the 1996-97 season and two newly promoted clubs;
Club name changes
Season summary
While it was déjà vu for the Amakhosi in finishing second, the same could be said for
In a tense relegation battle that raged into the final day of the season, it was newly promoted
Final table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mamelodi Sundowns (C) | 34 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 48 | 25 | +23 | 68 | 1999 CAF Champions League First Round[a] |
2 | Kaizer Chiefs
|
34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 35 | +17 | 63 | |
3 | Orlando Pirates
|
34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 57 | 1999 African Cup Winners' Cup first round[a] |
4 | Cape Town Spurs
|
34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 57 | |
5 | Manning Rangers
|
34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 58 | 47 | +11 | 57 | |
6 | Bush Bucks
|
34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 54 | |
7 | Jomo Cosmos
|
34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 51 | |
8 | Wits University | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 48 | |
9 | Qwa Qwa Stars | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 46 | |
10 | Hellenic
|
34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 44 | |
11 | Moroka Swallows | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 42 | |
12 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 46 | −8 | 41 | |
13 | Vaal Professionals
|
34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 36 | 44 | −8 | 38 | |
14 | SuperSport United | 34 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 36 | |
15 | AmaZulu | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 36 | 46 | −10 | 33 | |
16 | Santos
|
34 | 10 | 3 | 21 | 34 | 61 | −27 | 33 | |
17 | African Wanderers (R)
|
34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 56 | −13 | 31 | Relegated to the National First Division |
18 | Real Rovers (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 31 |
- ^ a b Due to the PSL following a different football calendar to the rest of Africa, which runs over a single calendar year and not the international August–May calendar followed by the PSL, Mamelodi Sundowns & Orlando Pirates were only eligible to enter the 1999 editions of the respective CAF competitions they qualified for.
References
- ^ "Premier Soccer League: Top scorers' list". worldfootball.net.