  the south african premier division (referred to as the absa premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of south african football league system. as the division is the top level of association football in south africa, it is often referred to as the psl - the name of the league's administrator. the premier soccer league, south africa's "administrator of professional football in the republic of south africa" refer to the competition as the "premier division" in their constitution. ==history== manning rangers were the first to be crowned champions of the premier division in 1997 when the gordon igesund-coached side was stunning all and sundry by winning the title ahead of a number of more fancied opponents. from 1998 to 2000 the league was dominated by sundowns, who pulled off a hat-trick of titles. in 2001, igesund moved to orlando pirates and helped the buccaneers secure the title. the following season he moved to cape town-based santos, and steered it to win the league title, thus becoming the first coach to win the championship with three different clubs. the 11 april 2001 marked a dark chapter in south african history when 43 people lost their lives and 158 others were injured in a stampede during a match between orlando pirates and kaizer chiefs at an overcrowded ellis park stadium.  the league was reduced from 18 to 16 teams after the end of the 2001-02 season to avoid fixture congestion, causing two teams, ria stars and free state stars, to be disbanded. in 2004, a match-fixing scandal rocked south african soccer. an investigation codenamed "operation dribble" was launched by the south african police in june 2004. more than 40 arrests were made, ranging from club bosses to match commissioners, referees and their assistants. kaizer chiefs successfully defended their league title in 2005 after they won the prestigious trophy in 2004
National_association_football_premier_leagues Premier_Soccer_League Soccer_leagues_in_South_Africa