No automatic relegation from Premiership after Royal AM expulsion

The Premier Soccer League (PSL) board of governors (BoG) has supported the recommendation by the executive committee that the team that finishes 15th in the 2024-2025 Betway Premiership will go to the promotional playoffs, with no side automatically relegated. 

This is in response to the expulsion of Royal AM from the PSL, which left the Premiership with 15 teams. Ordinarily the last-placed (16th) team is automatically relegated and the second last side goes to the playoffs.

It was also decided at Thursday's BoG meeting that the South African Football Association, which oversees the amateur third tier, will have to promote three sides from the ABC Motsepe League to the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC). 

The BoG's decision means there will be no automatically-relegated side from the Premiership at the end of the 2024-2025 campaign. Only the 15th-placed side — likely to be one of SuperSport United, Cape Town City, Marumo Gallants or Richards Bay — will go to the dreaded playoffs. 

Ordinarily two sides are automatically relegated from the second tier MFC to the third tier ABC Motsepe League, and two promoted. At the end of this season two will be relegated from the MFC and three will come up from the ABC, to make up for the shortfall of one team that will be left by one more side going to the Premiership than comes down. 

If the Premiership side is relegated via the playoffs, two will go up from the MFC. If the 15th-placed Premiership side survives the playoffs, no side will be relegated from the top flight but the MFC champions will still be promoted.

Points received by any teams from draws or wins in the 11 matches Royal played in the 2024-2025 Premiership will be expunged. 

Last week, Royal failed in their urgent bid to interdict the BoG’s meeting but that judgment has been reviewed and their case will be heard later in the month. 

Royal were suspended from playing matches in January after failing to honour fixtures from late December. AM could not fulfil games after the club was put under curatorship by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) in late November over an alleged tax debt of R40m by owner Shauwn Mkhize, which meant players and technical staff were not paid and trainings ground to a halt.

Sars' attempted to auction Royal in late March collapsed after the successful bidder failed to deposit an agreed sum into the specified bank account.

The PSL BoG overwhelmingly voted to ratify a recommendation made by the executive committee that the club be expelled on April 10.

The league is expected to publish the updated log standings later.