Premier Netball League (South Africa)

Premier Netball League

Sport	Netball
Founded	2014
Administrator	Netball South Africa
No. of teams	15
Country	South Africa
Most recent champion(s)	Free State Crinums (4th title)
Most titles	Gauteng Jaguars (6 titles)
TV partner(s)	SuperSport
Sponsor(s)	Telkom
Level on pyramid	1–2
Official website	Telkom Netball League

The Premier Netball League^[1] is the top level netball league featuring teams from South Africa. It was formed in 2014 and is organised by Netball South Africa. Between 2014 and 2018, due to sponsorship and naming rights arrangements, the league was known as the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup. Since 2019, the league has been sponsored by Telkom and, as a result, it is widely known as the Telkom Netball League. In 2014, Free State Crinums were the inaugural winners. Gauteng Jaguars are the league's most successful team, having won six titles. The league features two divisions and uses a promotion and relegation format. The winners of the Division Two Shield can gain promotion to Division One by winning a play off.

In 2014, Free State Crinums, Eastern Cape Aloes, Gauteng Golden Fireballs, Gauteng Jaguars and North West Flames, became founder members of Division One of the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup. Limpopo Baobabs, together with Southern Stings, Kingdom Stars, Mpumalanga Sunbirds and Northern Cape Diamonds, became founder members of Division Two.^[2][3][4] Free State Crinums were subsequently the inaugural Division One champions after defeating Jaguars 40–36 in the final.^[5][6] Southern Stings won the inaugural Division Two Shield, after defeating Kingdom Stars 39–31 in the final.^[7][8] Stings went on to gain promotion to Division One aftering defeating Eastern Cape Aloes 52–40 in a play off.^[5][9]

Between 2014 and 2016, with teams coached by Burta de Kock, captained by Maryka Holtzhausen and featuring Karla Pretorius, Free State Crinums won three successive titles. On each occasion they defeated Gauteng Jaguars in the final.^{[5][10][11][12][13]} In 2024, Crinums, with a team coached by Martha Mosoahle-Samm and featuring a returning Pretorius, won a fourth title.^[14][15][16]

Between 2017 and 2021, Gauteng Jaguars won five successive titles.^[17][18] In 2017, with a team coached by Jenny Van Dyk and captained by Shadine van der Merwe, they won their first title after defeating North West Flames 49–43 in the final.^[19] With teams featuring Marlize de Bruin and Izette Griesel, they retained the title in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.^{[20][21][22][23]} In 2022, Gauteng Golden Fireballs, with a team captained by Bongiwe Msomi, because just the third team to win the title when they beat Jaguars 35–32 in the final.^[17][24] However in 2023, Jaguars returned to win their sixth title.^[25]

In 2014, when the league was founded, it featured ten teams divided into two divisions, Division One and Division Two. Each division featured five teams.^[2][3][4]

In 2019, for one season only, three invitational teams – SPAR Smileys, President's Stars and Zimbabwe – played a series of exhibition matches alongside the league program. The former two were effectively home based members of the South Africa women's national team and the South Africa men's national netball team respectively. Zimbabwe used the series as preparation for the 2019 Netball World Cup.^[26][27][28]

In 2020 two new teams, Kingdom Queens and Western Cape Tornados, were added to Division Two. In 2021, they were joined by Eastern Cape Comets.^[29][30] Ahead of the 2023 season, Free State Sonoblomo and Limpopo Lilies joined Division Two. The league now featured fifteen teams. This also saw Kingdom Stars reinstated in Division One, despite losing losing the 2022 promotion/relegation play off.^[31]

Source:^[32]

• Official Website