The Premier Soccer League has announced that DSTV will be their title sponsor on a five year deal. This will see DSTV replacing Absa that sponsored the league for the past 13 years. It is still not yet confirmed how much DSTV will be sponsoring the league with. This means the relationship between PSL and MultiChoice (which owns DSTV has been solidified), this is due to MultiChoice is already sponsoring the MultiChoice Diski Challenge which is the reserve league for the new DSTV Premiership. MultiChoice also has the principal right to broadcast the PSL games and they paid significant amount to secure such rights.
According to the PSL website it states “The Premier Soccer League is proud to announce that MultiChoice’s DStv brand, has signed a five-year deal to become the new title sponsor of the premier division.”
“This is a continuation of a vibrant and fruitful partnership between the PSL and the MultiChoice.”
The PSL has transformed into a top 10 league globally after the 2007 broadcast rights’ deal, growing the best local players and attracting star from continent and beyond African shores. Over the years the PSL has created stars on the field of play that have brought joy to millions of South Africans, so too has DStv, creating platforms for stars to flourish and entertain. Football and entertainment are entrenched in the South African experience.
Added to this has been the MultiChoice Diski Challenge reserve league, from which players such as Percy Tau and Lyle Foster have gone on to excel internationally.
For PSL Chairman Dr Irvin Khoza, the establishment of the DStv Premiership is a natural evolution to the relationship and will be a powerful synergy, in what it brings for the football supporters.
The DStv Premiership marks an elevation of South Africa’s Premier Soccer League bringing together the best of sport and entertainment.
“As the PSL continues to innovate with a quest to improve its product, it will have a full backing of DStv, whose offering require an abundance of local content. There is no “them and us,” says Dr Khoza. “We are joined at the hip to produce enhanced consumption of the best product for our deserving supporters.”
MultiChoice Group CEO, Calvo Mawela believes the deal between DStv and the Premier Soccer League speaks to the essence of who and what the two organisations represent. “The DStv Premiership is the coming together of two brands that connect South Africans emotionally”, says Mawela. “Whether you are watching the best of local football or the best local entertainment, the passion for both is unmatched.”
Over the years the PSL has created stars on the field of play that have brought joy to millions. So too has DStv, creating platforms for stars to flourish and entertain. Football and entertainment are entrenched in the South African experience. As part of this new chapter in South African football, the DStv Premiership strives to reach every community in South Africa, both existing PSL loyalists and emerging new groups. Babize Bonke is our call to all South Africans to come together in the experience of a common passion.
“This affiliation is special because it is the only affiliation that is as appealing to the young as it is to the old. It is the only affiliation that cuts across race, gender, creed, culture and political affiliations in the manner that it does,” says Dr Khoza. “It creates equal conversations between people irrespective of their educational backgrounds and social strata.“
“Through the DStv Premiership, we are expanding football’s reach deeper and wider in partnership with the PSL. This league is for every South African and every community represented in our uniquely diverse nation.” Mawela emphasizes.
“With more games televised than ever before, we are deliberately creating space for all South Africans to call this competition their own.”
The DStv Premiership is the intersection where the best of local football meets the best of local entertainment. Babize bonke bazobona senzani! – PSL website conclude.
