# 2018–19 South African Premiership

The 2018–19 South African Premiership season (known as the ABSA Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd season of the Premiership since its establishment in 1996. The season began in August 2018 and concluded in May 2019, with Mamelodi Sundowns winning their second consecutive title.

## Team Changes

The following teams changed division since the 2017–18 season.

### To National First Division

Relegated from 2017-18 South African Premier Division
* Platinum Stars
* Ajax Cape Town

### From National First Division

Promoted to 2018–19 South African Premiership
* Highlands Park
* Black Leopards

## Teams
### Stadium and Locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| AmaZulu | Durban (Durban North) | King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium | 10,000 |
| Polokwane City | Polokwane | Peter Mokaba Stadium | 45,500 |
| Black Leopards | Thohoyandou | Thohoyandou Stadium | 40,000 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | Pretoria (Marabastad) | Loftus Versfeld Stadium | 51,762 |
| Maritzburg United | Pietermaritzburg | Harry Gwala Stadium | 12,000 |
| SuperSport United | Pretoria | Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium | 28,900 |
| Chippa United | Port Elizabeth | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 48,459 |
| Golden Arrows | Durban(Lamontville) | Princess Magogo Stadium | 12,000 |
| Baroka | Polokwane | Peter Mokaba Stadium | 45,500 |
| Bidvest | Johannesburg (Braamfontein) | Bidvest Stadium | 5,000 |
| Highlands Park | Johannesburg | Balfour Park Stadium | 13,500 |
| Cape Town City | Cape Town (Green Point) | Cape Town Stadium | 55,000 |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | Bloemfontein | Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium | 22,000 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | Johannesburg (Soweto) | FNB Stadium | 94,736 |
| Free State Stars | Bethlehem | Goble Park | 20,000 |
| Orlando Pirates | Johannesburg (Soweto) | Orlando Stadium | 37,139 |

### Number of teams by province

| | Province | Number of teams | Teams |
| 1 | Gauteng | 6 | Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United, Bidvest Wits and Highlands Park |
| 2 | KwaZulu-Natal | 3 | Maritzburg United, Golden Arrows and Amazulu |
| 2 | Limpopo | 3 | Polokwane City, Baroka FC and Black Leopards |
| 4 | Free State | 2 | Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic |
| 5 | Eastern Cape | 1 | Chippa United |
| 5 | Western Cape | 1 | Cape Town City |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor (chest) |
| AmaZulu | Cavin Johnson | Nhlanhla Vilakazi | Umbro | SPAR |
| Baroka | Wedson Nyirenda | Mduduzi Mdantsane | Flair | Two Mountains |
| Bidvest Wits | Gavin Hunt | Thulani Hlatshwayo | Kappa | Bidvest |
| Black Leopards | Dylan Kerr | Jean Munganga | Umbro | N/A |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | John Maduka | Patrick Tignyemb | Kappa | N/A |
| Cape Town City | Benni McCarthy | Thamsanqa Mkhize | Umbro | SportPesa |
| Chippa United | Clinton Larsen | Mark Mayambela | Joma | Nelson Mandela Bay |
| Free State Stars | Nikola Kavazovic | Paulus Masehe | Lotto | N/A |
| Golden Arrows | Steve Komphela | Nkanyiso Mngwengwe | Made by club | N/A |
| Highlands Park | Owen Da Gama | Tapuwa Kapini | Kappa | Jonsson Workwear |
| Kaizer Chiefs | Ernst Middendorp | Itumeleng Khune | Nike | Vodacom |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | Pitso Mosimane | Hlompho Kekana | Puma | Ubuntu-Botho S&E |
| Maritzburg United | Eric Tinkler | Siyanda Xulu | Lotto | N/A |
| Orlando Pirates | Milutin Sredojević | Happy Jele | Adidas | Vodacom |
| Polokwane City | Jozef Vukusic | Jabulani Maluleke | XCo | N/A |
| SuperSports United | Kaitano Tembo | Dean Furman | Kappa | Engen |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Baroka | Doctor Khumalo | Mutual consent | 12 May 2018 | Pre-season | Wedson Nyirenda | 30 May 2018 |
| Celtic | Veselin Jelusic | Mutual consent | 14 June 2018 | Pre-season | Steve Komphela | 20 June 2018 |
| Polokwane | Bernard Molekwa | Retained as assistant coach | 27 June 2018 | Pre-season | Jozef Vukusic | 27 June 2018 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | Steve Komphela | Resigned | 21 April 2018 | Pre-season | Giovanni Solinas | 13 July 2018 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 30 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 59 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 2 | Orlando Pirates | 30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 57 | Qualification for Champions League |
| 3 | Bidvest Wits | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 54 | Qualification for Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Cape Town City | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 48 | |
| 5 | Polokwane City | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 38 | 35 | +3 | 44 | |
| 6 | SuperSport United | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 44 | |
| 7 | Highlands Park | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 41 | |
| 8 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 40 | |
| 9 | Kaizer Chiefs | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 39 | |
| 10 | Golden Arrows | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 36 | |
| 11 | AmaZulu FC | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 31 | |
| 12 | Chippa United | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 27 | 35 | −8 | 30 | |
| 13 | Black Leopards | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 30 | 46 | −16 | 30 | |
| 14 | Baroka FC | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 27 | 37 | −10 | 29 | |
| 15 | Maritzburg United | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 27 | Qualification for Playoff Tournament |
| 16 | Free State Stars | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 31 | 47 | −16 | 27 | Relegation to National First Division |
* ↑ TS Galaxy (from National First Division) are Nedbank Cup winners and also qualify for Confederation Cup.
* ↑ AmaZulu had 6 points deducted for failing to pay former player Phineas Nambandi.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AMA | BAR | BID | BLA | BFC | CTC | CPU | FSS | LGA | HIG | KAI | MAM | MAR | ORL | POL | SSU |
| AmaZulu F.C. | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Baroka F.C. | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 |
| Bidvest Wits | 3–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Black Leopards | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 3–0 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Cape Town City | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Chippa United | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Free State Stars | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Golden Arrows | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Highlands Park | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Maritzburg United | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Orlando Pirates | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 3–1 |
| Polokwane City | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 |
| SuperSport United | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — |

## Statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 11 May 2019
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mwape Musonda | Black Leopards | 16 |
| 2 | Gift Motupa | Bidvest Wits | 9 |
| 2 | Thembinkosi Lorch | Orlando Pirates F.C. | 9 |
| 2 | Tshegofatso Mabasa | Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. | 9 |
| 5 | Knox Mutizwa | Golden Arrows | 8 |
| 5 | Lebohang Maboe | Mamelodi Sundowns | 8 |
| 5 | Mothobi Mvala | Highlands Park | 8 |
| 5 | Mohammed Anas | Polokwane City | 8 |
| 5 | Vincent Pule | Orlando Pirates F.C. | 8 |
| 10 | Mxolisi Macuphu | SuperSport United | 7 |
| 10 | Siphelele Mthembu | Cape Town City | 7 |
| 10 | Bongi Ntuli | AmaZulu | 7 |
| 10 | Peter Shalulile | Chippa United | 7 |

### Assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Deon Hotto | Bidvest Wits | 13 |
| 2 | Aubrey Modiba | SuperSport United | 10 |
| 3 | Jabulani Maluleke | Polokwane City | 9 |
| 4 | Fortune Makaringe | Maritzburg United | 8 |
| 4 | Augustine Mulenga | Orlando Pirates | 8 |
| 4 | Gaston Sirino | Mamelodi Sundowns | 8 |
| 7 | Thembinkosi Lorch | Orlando Pirates | 7 |
| 8 | Ndumiso Mabena | Bloemfontein Celtic | 6 |
| 8 | Mduduzi Mdantsane | Baroka | 6 |
| 8 | Themba Zwane | Mamelodi Sundowns | 6 |

### Clean Sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheets |
| 1 | Patrick Tignyemb | Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. | 11 |
| 1 | Ronwen Williams | SuperSport United | 10 |
| 3 | Darren Keet | Bidvest Wits F.C. | 9 |
| 3 | Siyabonga Mbatha | AmaZulu F.C. | 9 |
| 5 | Richard Ofori | Maritzburg United | 7 |
| 5 | Peter Leeuwenburgh | Cape Town City F.C. | 7 |
| 7 | Nkosingiphile Gumede | Golden Arrows | 6 |
| 7 | Itumeleng Khune | Kaizer Chiefs F.C. | 6 |
| 7 | Daniel Akpeyi | Kaizer Chiefs F.C. | 6 |
| 7 | George Chigova | Polokwane City F.C. | 6 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Club | Score | Opponent | Venue | Date |
| Mwape Musonda | Black Leopards | 3–2 | Chippa United F.C. | Thohoyandou Stadium, Thohoyandou | 10 March 2019 |

### Discipline

    As of 17 March 2019

#### Player

* Most yellow cards: 10
** Danny Phiri (Golden Arrows)
* Most red cards: 2
** Nyiko Mobbie (Free State Stars)
** Robyn Johannes (Bidvest Wits)
** Taariq Fielies (Cape Town City)
** Khuliso Mudau (Black Leopards)

#### Team

* Most yellow cards: 50
** Bidvest Wits
* Most red cards: 4
** Free State Stars
* Fewest yellow cards: 25
** Black Leopards
* Fewest red cards: 0
** Kaizer Chiefs
** SuperSport United
** AmaZulu
** Chippa United

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | Kaizer Chiefs | 17,161 |
| 2 | Orlando Pirates | 16,067 |
| 3 | Black Leopards FC | 11,049 |
| 4 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 10,690 |
| 5 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 8,427 |
| 6 | Cape Town City | 8,307 |
| 7 | Maritzburg United | 7,380 |
| 8 | Chippa United | 7,067 |
| 9 | AmaZulu FC | 5,767 |
| 10 | Polokwane City FC | 5,306 |
| 11 | SuperSport United | 5,219 |
| 12 | Highlands Park | 5,020 |
| 13 | Baroka | 4,595 |
| 14 | Free State Stars | 2,570 |
| 15 | Golden Arrows | 2,473 |
| 16 | Bidvest Wits | 2,437 |