OptaJabu Newsletter #12 - New PSL Season
Eight stats to preview the MTN8
The 2024/25 PSL season kicks off this weekend with two MTN8 quarter-finals scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, SuperSport United travel to Orlando Pirates and on Sunday afternoon Stellenbosch will host TS Galaxy. The league is still six weeks away, and as fans we’re happy to have some local football back on screen and at the stadiums. We’ve gone into the data archives to bring some context into this Top 8 competition with eight MTN8 stats.
A milestone competition
The 2024 MTN8 will be the 50th edition of the Top 8 competition. There were 25 in the pre-PSL era and this is the 25th in the PSL era. The prize money has gone up to R10million (thanks MTN), but a good old petroleum company still leads the way in terms of tournament sponsorships. Another 11 years of MTN, and we’ll be singing a different tune.
Most years as a Top8 sponsor:
28 - BP
17 - MTN
5 - SAA
Overall, MTN are now level with Telkom for years sponsoring a Cup, but that’s a newsletter for another day.
Chiefs MIA
Kaizer Chiefs may be absent from this season’s edition, but they still hold the record for most Top8 titles, with 15. They can even miss out on the next three editions, and would still remain as Top8 kings. Yet, this edition marks the 10th year anniversary since their last win. Before 2001, Chiefs never went three years without putting their hands on the trophy.
Most Top8 titles:
15 - Chiefs
12 - Pirates
4 - Sundowns
3 - Swallows, SuperSport, Wits
Buccaneers affiliation
Indeed, 27 of the 49 previous trophies have landed at one of the two Soweto clubs - Pirates & Chiefs. Make that 30/49 if we include Moroka Swallows. But Pirates have had a lof of fun in this competition in the PSL era. They won the first edition in Year 2000 and the most recent edition (2023). No team has appeared in more Top 8 finals (9) and none have won more titles than them (6). The Buccaneers have won three of the last four editions and are the only side to win back-to-back titles (twice).
Can Pirates do the three-peat?
That would be something, wouldn’t it? No team in PSL history has ever won the Top8 three years in a row. In fact, Pirates have come close to this three times before. In 1973 and 2001, Chiefs ended that dream. And then in 2012, Moroka Swallows ended that dream. Those two Soweto aren’t in this competition, so maybe there’s your omen.
Are we early?
3 July - Only once before in the 16-team PSL era has the domestic season started earlier than the 3 August?
That was exactly 10 years ago (1 August 2014).
Gavin Hunt’s Wits beat Celtic on penalties in that MTN8 QF
Can Gavin Hunt celebrate his 60th birthday with a win?
At some point this season, possibly this year, Gavin Hunt will take charge of his 1000th game – a feat no coach in the PSL has ever come close to. For those counting, the Pirates game will be Number 986.
His current record: P985 W411 D284 L288 (we’ll double check this when he gets closer to 1000).
Rockets join the party
31 - TS Galaxy are playing the competition for the first time, which makes them the 33rd different side to play in the Top8 in the PSL era.
How many others can you name?
Barker’s delight
One person who would have celebrated Sead Ramovic’s retention by TS Galaxy is Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker:
0 – Sead Ramovic is yet to win a game against Steve Barker, drawing twice and losing the other five games in their seven meetings.
