Change of format can boost PSL stability

THE practice of PSL clubs buying and selling franchises is nothing new and will likely happen again. Most recently, Royal AM attained promotion to the top flight by purchasing the PSL status of the now defunct Bloemfontein Celtic and moving the club to Durban.

This practice simply makes the league look shoddy and risks diminishing its value. If the Premiership wants to expand beyond South Africa to truly establish itself as one of Africa’s top leagues, and eventually a respected league worldwide, it needs to end this practice.

While it’s easy to say that the practice should be ended, it’s much harder in reality. The reason it happens is due to the financial instability of SA football clubs. In reality, there are only a handful of SA professional football clubs that are financially secure to the extent that they are certain to exist for the next several years.

For the vast majority, yearon-year end survival is difficult and the situation has been made worse by the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, due to the loss of stadium entrance fees among other things.

One thing that can be done to improve the top flight is to change its format and use the one Major League Soccer in the United States uses, that does not have any form of relegation or promotion. Considering that most football fans in SA idolise European leagues which all have promotion and relegation, this format is not ideal but it will certainly improve the stability and reduce the endless controversies in the PSL such as the never-ending disputes surrounding the Gladafrica Championship.

By using the MLS format, the most financially secure football clubs will get to play top-flight football. One can say that we already use this format due to to financially insecure teams eventually fold before being replaced by a financially better off one from a lower division.

In reality, the so-called big guns of SA football such as Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns will never be relegated. Even in the extremely unlikely event that they finished last in the league and were relegated, they will in all probability buy the status of a financially less secure club before returning to the top flight.

What is the use of having the concept of relegation if some clubs are effectively exempt from it? The Premiership is an unstable league and the financial insecurity of clubs is a big reason why the overall quality of football in the division last season received largely negative reviews, with Sundowns storming to another title success without much of a challenge.

By closing the league, clubs will receive more security and protection. If the clubs share costs, they will also be more incentivised to control costs and protect their investments.

This is not an ideal solution, but it is a workable one to mitigate the financial impacts of the pandemic, which will continue for several years.