1996–97 Premier Soccer League 1996–97 Premier Soccer League The 1996–97 Premier Soccer League, known as the 1996–97 Castle Premiership for sponsorship purposes, was the first season of the newly established top-flight professional football league in South Africa. The league was an 18-team competition established in 1996 by Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Motaung, Raymond Hack and Jomo Sono in conjunction with the South African Football Association and it would run parallel to the European football calendar. Manning Rangers shocked all and sundry by comfortably finishing top of the log to win the first PSL title ahead of several more fancied opponents. The "Mighty Maulers" dominated to
1999–2000 Premier Soccer League record they jointly set with Kaizer Chiefs last season, but unlike the previous season in which the title was decided by goal difference, there was no close title race this season as Sundowns finished comfortably ahead of second placed Orlando Pirates with an 11-point margin. As before, the league was contested by 18 teams, sixteen returning from the 1997–98 season and two newly promoted clubs; the returning African Wanderers and Tembisa Classic. The league continued to run parallel to the European football calendar (August–May) and not run concurrently with the African football calendar (January–December). Mamelodi Sundowns clinched a record third