# 2015–16 South African Premiership

The 2015–16 South African Premiership season (known as the ABSA Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the Premiership since its establishment in 1996.
Mamelodi Sundowns won their seventh league title in dominant fashion, finishing 14 points ahead of second-place Bidvest Wits. League newcomers Jomo Cosmos dropped into last place for the first time all season in their final game, and were relegated to the National First Division for the 2016-17 season.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

Football teams in South Africa tend to use multiple stadiums over the course of a season for their home games. The following table indicates the stadium used most often by the club for their home games
| Team | City | Home venue | Capacity |
| Ajax Cape Town | Cape Town | Cape Town Stadium | 69,070 |
| Bidvest Wits | Johannesburg | Bidvest Stadium | 15,000 |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | Bloemfontein | Free State Stadium | 40,911 |
| Chippa United | Port Elizabeth | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium | 48,459 |
| Free State Stars | Phuthaditjhaba | Charles Mopeli Stadium | 50,000 |
| Golden Arrows | Durban | Princess Magogo Stadium | 12,000 |
| Jomo Cosmos | Tembisa | Makhulong Stadium | 20,000 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | Johannesburg | FNB Stadium (Soccer City) | 94,736 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | Pretoria | Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium | 23,900 |
| Maritzburg United | Pietermaritzburg | Harry Gwala Stadium | 22,000 |
| Mpumalanga Black Aces | Nelspruit | Mbombela Stadium | 43,589 |
| Orlando Pirates | Johannesburg | Orlando Stadium | 40,000 |
| Platinum Stars | Phokeng | Royal Bafokeng Stadium | 44,530 |
| Polokwane City | Polokwane | Peter Mokaba Stadium | 45,000 |
| SuperSport United | Pretoria | Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium | 23,900 |
| University of Pretoria | Pretoria | Tuks Stadium | 8,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Supplier | Shirt sponsor |
| Ajax Cape Town | Roger De Sá | Adidas | Huawei |
| Bidvest Wits | Gavin Hunt | Kappa | Bidvest |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | Clinton Larsen | Kappa | MTN |
| Chippa United | Roger Sikhakhane | Nike | Chippa Holdings |
| Free State Stars | Kinnah Phiri | Maxed | Bonitas |
| Golden Arrows | Serame Letsoaka | Mille | Vacant |
| Jomo Cosmos | Jomo Sono | Puma | Vacant |
| Kaizer Chiefs | Steve Komphela | Nike | Vodacom |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | Pitso Mosimane | Nike | Ubuntu Botho |
| Maritzburg United | Mandla Ncikazi | Umbro | Vacant |
| Mpumalanga Black Aces | Muhsin Ertuğral | Umbro | ISPS Handa |
| Orlando Pirates | Eric Tinkler | Adidas | Vodacom |
| Platinum Stars | Cavin Johnson | Acelli | The Royal Marang Hotel |
| Polokwane City | Kosta Papić | XCO | Vacant |
| SuperSport United | Gordon Igesund | Kappa | Engen Petroleum |
| University of Pretoria | Sammy Troughton | Umbro | WorkersLife |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Mamelodi Sundowns (C) | 30 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 55 | 20 | +35 | 71 | Qualification for 2017 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Bidvest Wits | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 57 | Qualification for 2017 CAF Champions League |
| 3 | Platinum Stars | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 47 | Qualification for 2017 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Mpumalanga Black Aces | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 47 | |
| 5 | Kaizer Chiefs | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 46 | |
| 6 | Chippa United | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 45 | |
| 7 | Orlando Pirates | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 41 | |
| 8 | SuperSport United | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 40 | Qualification for 2017 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 9 | Golden Arrows | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 40 | |
| 10 | Ajax Cape Town | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 37 | |
| 11 | Bloemfontein Celtic | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 36 | |
| 12 | Free State Stars | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 37 | −9 | 35 | |
| 13 | Polokwane City | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 31 | |
| 14 | Maritzburg United | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 53 | −18 | 27 | |
| 15 | University of Pretoria (R) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 25 | 42 | −17 | 25 | Qualification for PSL Playoff Tournament |
| 16 | Jomo Cosmos (R) | 30 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 41 | −21 | 25 | Relegation to National First Division |
* ↑ Platinum Stars were docked 1 point for playing ineligible player Siyabonga Zulu.
* 1 2 SuperSport United qualified as winners of the 2015–16 Nedbank Cup to the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup.

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 6 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bidvest Wits | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Platinum Stars | 6 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Mpumalanga Black Aces | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Kaizer Chiefs | 6 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Chippa United | 6 | 15 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Orlando Pirates | 14 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| SuperSport United | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Golden Arrows | 3 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| Ajax Cape Town | 13 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| Bloemfontein Celtic | 12 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11 |
| Free State Stars | 14 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| Polokwane City | 1 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Maritzburg United | 6 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
| Univ. of Pretoria | 14 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
| Jomo Cosmos | 6 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
* Leader
* 2017 CAF Champions League or 2017 CAF Confederation Cup
* Relegation to National First Division or Playoff Tournament

## Season statistics
### Scoring
#### Top scorers

    As of 21 May 2016
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Collins Mbesuma | Black Aces | 14 |
| 2 | Thobani Mncwango | Polokwane | 13 |
| 2 | Prince Nxumalo | Ajax | 13 |
| 4 | Khama Billiat | Mamelodi | 12 |
| 5 | Jeremy Brockie | SuperSport Utd | 11 |
| 6 | Leonardo Castro | Mamelodi | 10 |
| 6 | Ndumiso Mabena | Platinum | 10 |
| 8 | Evans Rusike | Maritzburg Utd | 9 |
| 9 | Willard Katsande | Kaizer Chiefs | 7 |
| 9 | James Keene | Wits | 7 |
| 9 | Daine Klate | Wits | 7 |
| 9 | Mpho Makola | Pirates | 7 |
| 9 | Lerato Manzine | Chippa Utd | 7 |
| 9 | Sibusiso Vilakazi | Wits | 7 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Thobani Mncwango$^4$ | Polokwane City | SuperSport United | 4-1 | 16 January 2016 |
| James Keene | Bidvest Wits | Polokwane City | 5-0 | 22 January 2016 |
| Jeremy Brockie | SuperSport United | Jomo Cosmos | 2-4 | 27 February 2016 |
| Lerato Manzini | Chippa United | Platinum Stars | 4-1 | 27 April 2016 |
| Frank Mhango$^4$ | Golden Arrows | Mpumalanga Black Aces | 2-4 | 27 April 2016 |
| Anthony Laffor | Mamelodi Sundowns | University of Pretoria | 0-3 | 4 May 2016 |
$^4$ Player scored 4 goals.