PSL is Africa’s best-organised football league, says Cyril Ramaphosa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised the Premier Soccer League (PSL), describing it as one of the best-organised sporting institutions in the country and the leading football league on the African continent.

Ramaphosa made the remarks during a courtesy visit to the PSL offices in Parktown on Monday, November 2, where he met the league’s chairman, Dr Irvin Khoza, and chief executive officer Mato Madlala.

The president used the occasion to commend the league for its organisation, the quality of its football and its contribution to South African society.

Speaking to the media, Ramaphosa said his visit was primarily to recognise the PSL’s achievements and acknowledge its role in bringing happiness to millions of South Africans.

“My visit here has been courtesy, just to pay tribute to PSL for what they have achieved. They are the best-organised league on the continent and running the most popular sporting code, which is football,” he said.

Ramaphosa also highlighted football’s popularity in South Africa, noting that it remains the country’s leading sporting discipline.

He referenced a figure shared by Khoza, indicating that 77% of South Africans who follow sport are football supporters, with rugby coming next.

The president said he was particularly impressed by the league’s philosophy of measuring its success through the happiness it brings to supporters.

“He was showing me the measurement; he says their business is the happiness index, that they deal in the happiness of people, and that is so true,” Ramaphosa added.

He also expressed pride in the Soweto Derby, describing its growing international recognition as a major achievement for South African football.

The fixture between Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs has developed into one of the continent’s biggest football spectacles and enjoys a significant following beyond South Africa.

Ramaphosa said the derby’s trademark status and global reputation further demonstrated the PSL’s achievements.

He congratulated the league’s leadership and urged them to maintain the standards that have made South African football one of the continent’s leading sporting attractions.

“This is a great achievement for us as South Africans and so therefore, I wanted to come and say well done and keep doing well,” he said.

“We are very proud of what PSL has achieved and what football has achieved in the country.”