Mahlangu recalls how the PSL transformed his career and salary

Sello “Page” Mahlangu says the arrival of the Premier Soccer League (PSL) changed both South African football and his own life, with his salary increasing sevenfold when he moved from Witbank Aces to Mamelodi Sundowns.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Witbank Aces midfielder was reflecting on his early experiences of the PSL era as the competition celebrates its 30th anniversary this season.

Mahlangu played in all three of South Africa’s major league eras: the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), the National Soccer League (NSL) and, later, the PSL.

“Hawu hawu hawu! It’s been so many years? Can you imagine I played in the NPSL, in the NSL, and in the PSL,” he said.

He believes the PSL delivered on its promise when it was established, although he regards each period of South African football as distinctive.

“Oh yes, it did. But every generation was unique. The NPSL was a good league, but when the breakaway happened, it became weaker, and the NSL standard became high. It became even higher when the PSL was formed.”

Mahlangu also praised the administrators who helped create the professional league, saying they looked abroad for ideas to improve the quality and organisation of the competition.

“We compliment those administrators who came with that vision. They even went to England to find out first hand what is it they were doing for their product to be better. The model has become much better.”

A major change in 1996-97

For Mahlangu, the 1996-97 season represented a decisive turning point. Funding in the new PSL was significantly stronger than it had been in the NSL, allowing clubs to make further improvements to their football operations.

“Everything changed in that 1996/1997 Season. Even the funding in the PSL was way better than the NSL one. Teams were all of a sudden, able to bring in qualified coaches from outside.”

Players also benefited as clubs introduced more structured payment arrangements and established a benchmark for salaries.

“It jumped almost 10 times what we were earning in the NSL. The package changed. They started regulating the payment of players by setting up a benchmark.”

Mahlangu was earning between R5,000 and R6,000 while playing for Witbank Aces, a figure that made him the club’s highest-paid player at the time.

“My salary was around R5000 to R6000; it’s when I was still playing for Aces. It was a lot of money. I was the highest paid player.”

His move to Sundowns brought another dramatic increase. Mahlangu said he began earning seven times more than he had at Aces, describing the PSL era as a period that fundamentally changed his circumstances.

“It became even better when I joined Sundowns. I was now getting 7 times more than I was getting at Aces. The PSL era changed my life.”

Despite his long career, Mahlangu cannot remember his first PSL match. He explained that he was focused on enjoying each game and was being used in a variety of positions before eventually establishing himself at Sundowns.

“I can’t recall. The thing is, I was just enjoying every match; back then, I was playing different positions. I only became stable at Sundowns.”

Mahlangu also said he never received a red card during the PSL era. He avoided reckless challenges, approached tackles carefully and believed he won the ball fairly. His yellow cards, he added, were more often the result of arguing with referees.

“[Laughs] I never received a red card. I never pushed myself into tackles. I was very cautious in terms of committing myself. I was winning my tackles fairly. Even the yellow cards I got were due to remonstrating with a referee.”

His first car came after returning from the 1998 FIFA World Cup with Bafana Bafana, following Sundowns’ league triumph. Mahlangu bought a Corolla 1.8GLE for R48,000.