New-look first division kicks off
25 August 2004
South African soccer's new-look first division, the restructured Mvela Golden League, kicks off this weekend with games involving all 18 teams.
Premier Soccer League (PSL) chief executive Trevor Phillips and Andrew Dipela, the general manager of the first division, last week announced major changes to the way the first division will be run.
In the past, the first division was made up of two streams - an inland stream with 16 teams, and a coastal league made up of 14 teams - with the winners of each stream gaining promotion to the PSL.
At the end of the 2003-2004 season, the two-stream league ceased to exist, and the teams that won the coastal and inland streams, Bush Bucks and Bloemfontein Celtic respectively, gained promotion to the PSL.
The teams that held positions two to eight in both streams now form the national first division, renamed the Mvela Golden League. They have been joined by two clubs that were relegated from the PSL, Zulu Royals and Hellenic, as well as two teams that gained promotion from the lower leagues, making a total of 18 teams.
Former politican turned businessman Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda Holdings will bankroll the new league with a three-year, R30-million sponsorship. Italian sportwear company Diadora will be the league's outfit sponsor for an initial three years.
According to a statement released by Dipela last week, all the teams will receive a monthly grant of R30 000 over the next 12 months. "The league will also provide transport and accommodation for the teams whenever they play away", Dipela said.
Dipela said the league will be reduced to 16 teams at the start
of the 2005-2006 season. He said only the team in position 16 in the top-flight PSL will be automatically relegated, while the winner of the Mvela Golden League will be promoted.
"The team in position 15 in the PSL will go into a play-off with teams in positions two, three and four in the Mvela Golden League", Dipela added. "The winner of this play-off will join the PSL, a scenario that creates excitement right up to the end of the season.
"So it is no longer a case where if a team wins the league, everything is over. There is a lot more to play for as far as the rest of the teams are concerned."
Dipela also said that at the end of the 2005-2006 season, four teams will be relegated from the Mvela Golden League, while two will be promoted from the lower leagues. "That will make the Mvela Golden League a 16-team league, which I feel is an ideal number."
According to Dipela, the Mvela Golden League will not only be about football, it will also mean growth to the
clubs in different ways, something he says really excites him.
"It should not only be about clubs playing football, and being promoted and relegated at the end of the season", he said. "Clubs should grow in the way they are run as well. That is why there have to be minimum criteria that clubs have to adhere to, and this is part of development.
"Clubs should have an office with a telephone and fax, a set home venue as well as an alternate venue. Teams should use the Mvela Golden League to grow their structures and empower themselves to grow not only in football, but in other ways as well."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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