# National First Division

The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and South African Premiership are organised by the Premier Soccer League.

## Structure and rules
### Seasons 2007–2011

The restructured NFD was divided into two streams, one inland and another coastal – each of which consisted of 8 teams. The winners of the two streams played against each other in a 'final' at the end of the season – the winner of which was promoted to the Premiership. The loser of the 'final' played in a mini-tournament/play-offs against the two second-placed teams in each stream and the 15th-placed team on the Premiership log. The winner of this tournament was automatically promoted to the top flight.

### Season 2011 onwards

A new structure and new rules were decided, beginning from the 2011-12 season. The new rules are, that competing NFD teams, at all times during NFD matches, are required to field:
* Minimum 5 South African-born under 23 players.
* Maximum 3 foreign players.
The new structure of the league, is a re-introduction of the one division format, previously used for the three seasons in 2004-07. This means, that the two former geographical split streams, will merge into one common division. The winner of the NFD will gain automatic promotion to Premiership (replacing the lowest ranked team in Premiership). Teams to finish 2nd and 3rd in NFD, will enter a playoff stage with a round robin format, against the team ranked as nr.15 in Premiership. Only the winner of this playoff stage gets promoted to the Premiership.
Relegation/promotion rules between the NFD and the SAFA Second Division remain more or less unchanged. After each season, the two lowest ranked teams in the NFD will be relegated to the SAFA Second Division. In the opposite direction, the two best teams of SAFA Second Division will get promoted to the NFD, decided by a round robin playoff stage between the 9 provincial winners.

## History

The first non-racial second level of South African football, was established in March 1987 as the OK League. This league served as the competing place, for promotion/relegation to and from the topflight NSL. In the former years from 1978–1986, a topflight non-racial First Level had already been established, after the merger of the NFL and NPSL, to form the new common topflight NPSL. In the early years from 1978–1986 relegation/promotion to and from the topflight league, according to official records actually did happen, but apparently it happened from a Second Level league structure, still divided into whites/blacks/coloureds.
When the new topflight South African Premiership was established in 1996, the organizers at the same time for the Second Level, replaced the former OK League with the new National First Division. Apart from being covered by a better sponsor deal, the most significant change -both at the First and Second Level- was to change the fixtures from yearly seasons, into the more Internationally adapted: September–May football season.
The first sponsors were United Bank who sponsored the league in 1997 and 1998. From November 1998 until the end of the 2001/2001 season, the league was sponsored by MTN. It was reported that MTN withdrew from sponsorship the First Division as they were unhappy with their treatment from the PSL - the division organisers. MTN had been rebuffed by the PSL in their efforts to sponsor the PSL-organised Charity Cup because Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs would refuse to play in the tournament as the two clubs were sponsored by MTN's telecommunication rivals, Vodacom. The First Division could not find a new sponsor until May 2004.
From 2004 until 2007 the league was sponsored by business magnate Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda Group and known as Mvela Golden League. For those three seasons, there was no geographical split and all 16 teams played in one division. The league was then initially unable to find a sponsor, and there was again a geographical split into two or four streams until the 2011–12 season.
Streams :
| Year | Western Cape | Natal/Eastern/Cape | Northern | Southern |
| | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner |
| 1996–97 | Santos | African Wanderers | Black Leopards | Tembisa Classic |
| Streams |||||
| Year | Coastal | Coastal | Inland | Inland |
| | Winner | Runner-up | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1997–98 | Seven Stars | Michau Warriors | Dynamos | Witbank Aces |
| 1998–99 | African Wanderers | Avendale Athletico | Tembisa Classic | Ria Stars |
| 1999–2000 | Golden Arrows | Avendale Athletico | Ria Stars | Dynamos |
| 2000–01 | Amazulu | Park United | Black Leopards | Bloemfontein Young Tigers |
| 2001–02 | African Wanderers | Avendale Athletico | Dynamos | Silver Stars |
| 2002–03 | AmaZulu | Premier United | Silver Stars | Bloem Celtic |
| 2003–04 | Bush Bucks | Avendale Athletico | Bloemfontein Celtic | Free State Stars |
| National |||||
| | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
| 2004–05 | Free State Stars | Durban Stars | Hellenic | Tembisa Classic |
| 2005–06 | Wits University | City Pillars | Vasco Da Gama | Benoni Premier United |
| 2006–07 | Free State Stars | Winners Park | Pretoria University | FC AK |
| Streams |||||
| Year | Coastal | Coastal | Inland | Inland |
| | Winner | Runner-up | Winner | Runner-up |
| 2007–08 | Maritzburg United | Bay United | FC AK | Dynamos |
| 2008–09 | Carara Kicks | FC Cape Town | Jomo Cosmos | Mpumalanga Black Aces |
| 2009–10 | Vasco Da Gama | Nathi Lions | Black Leopards | African Warriors |
| 2010–11 | Bay United | Thanda Royal Zulu | Jomo Cosmos | Black Leopards |
| National |||||
| | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place |
| 2011–12 | Pretoria University | Chippa United | Thanda Royal Zulu | Blackburn Rovers |
| 2012–13 | Polokwane City | Santos | Mpumalanga Black Aces | Thanda Royal Zulu |
| 2013–14 | Chippa United | Black Leopards | Maritzburg United | Baroka |
| 2014–15 | Lamontville Golden Arrows | Jomo Cosmos | Black Leopards | Thanda Zulu Royal |
| 2015–16 | Baroka | Highlands Park | Mbombela United | Witbank Spurs |
| 2016–17 | Thanda Royal Zulu F.C. | Black Leopards | Stellenbosch | Royal Eagles |
| 2017–18 | Highlands Park | Black Leopards | Jomo Cosmos | Real Kings |
| 2018–19 | Stellenbosch | Royal Eagles | Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila | Ajax Cape Town |
| 2019–20 | Moroka Swallows | Ajax Cape Town | Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila | Real Kings |
| 2020–21 | Sekhukhune United | Royal AM | Richards Bay | TS Sporting |
| 2021–22 | Richards Bay | Tuks | Cape Town All Stars | JDR Stars |
| 2022–23 | Polokwane City | Cape Town Spurs | Casric Stars | All Stars |
| 2023–24 | Magesi | University of Pretoria | Baroka | Maritzburg United |

### Notes

* ↑ Black Leopards participated in a two-legged promotion/relegation playoff with Mpumalanga Black Aces and lost 5-3 on penalties. They were not promoted.
* ↑ Thanda Zulu Royal were not promoted as their league status was purchased by fifth-placed Amazulu.
* ↑ TTM lost in the playoffs, but purchased their position in the 2020–21 South African Premier Division by buying the Premier League status of Bidvest Wits.
* ↑ Royal AM did not participate in the playoffs, but purchased their position in the 2021–22 South African Premier Division by buying the Premier League status of Bloemfontein Celtic.