South Africa's Betway Premiership, AKA the PSL, is one of Africa's most stable leagues, but simultaneously never short of drama, and 2025 has not been any different.
From the arguably unprecedented dominance of Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates this season to a dramatic transfer window and the chaos at the other end of the table, particularly with Royal AM, here's a timeline of the best and the worst of the PSL.
JANUARY
January 2 - Muhsin Ertugral appointed Cape Town City technical director
Two days after Eric Tinkler's departure as head coach, Cape Town City unveiled former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates boss Ertugral as their technical director. Ertugral was, at the time, expected to take over head coaching duties until the end of 2024/25... More on that later.
January 8 - Shauwn Mkhize confirms Royal AM under SARS curatorship
Mkhize, a businesswoman, television star and alleged fraudster, has never been a stranger to controversy during her time as owner of Royal AM.
The club was already reeling from back-to-back FIFA transfer bans over failure to pay out former players Samir Nurković and Ricardo Nascimento when 'MaMkhize' confirmed they were under South African Revenue Service (SARS) curatorship amid her well-documented tax issues on top of those related to player payments.
Royal AM, who are up for sale, have not played a match since December 29 and it remains to be seen if their results this season are nullified.
January 18 - Mamelodi Sundowns sign Jayden Adams
One of the most exciting signings of the transfer window, attacking midfielder Adams moved from CAF Confederation Cup side Stellenbosch FC to defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. He wasted no time hitting the ground running with goals against SuperSport United and TS Galaxy and an assist against Sekhukhune United, all coming in February.
January 27 - Kaizer Chiefs land Makabi Lilepo
Kaizer Chiefs also had a busy transfer window, with the headline signing being DR Congo international Lilepo from French third-tier club Valenciennes. He made an immediate impact with goals in all of his first three starts. Since then, his output in front of goal has dipped, but he still got the assist for Ashley du Preez's winner - the only goal of the game against Magesi FC.
January 29 - Sundowns add Lucas Suárez on loan
One of the window's most puzzling signings came right at the end as Sundowns brought in former Argentina U20 international Lucas Suárez on a one-year loan despite already having a star-studded defence.
Masandawana already had the likes of Mothobi Mvala, Grant Kekana, Malibongwe Khoza, Rivaldo Coetzee and Khuliso Mudau on board and although Rushine de Reuck left for Maccabi Petah Tikva, Sundowns had already signed Keanu Cupido to compensate for that.
Never one to shy away from the risks that come with having a big squad, Masandawana swooped on Suárez ahead of the business end of the season.
FEBRUARY
February 1 - Orlando Pirates triumph in Soweto Derby with controversial penalty
The Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates has a reputation for being a cagey fixture and the clash on February 1 was no exception, but the ending to the match was anything but dull.
Relebohile Mofokeng was awarded a controversial penalty for a slight tug from Njabulo Blom which referee Masixole Bambiso initially played advantage for.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL), which administers the top two tiers of South African football, does not yet use VAR, which made Bambiso's decision to belatedly award the penalty particularly contentious even though there was contact.
As if the crowd was not already on the edge of their seats, Pirates fan favourite Patrick 'Tito' Maswanganyi stepped up and converted the winning penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time with a panenka - the only goal of the game.
February 8 - Ribeiro silences the Sea Robbers
Pirates were brought crashing down to earth as Lucas Ribeiro Costa's brace led Sundowns to a 4-1 win over the Buccaneers at Loftus Versfeld. By this time, it was already abundantly clear that José Riveiro's men were the only ones capable of stopping Sundowns from winning an eighth successive Premiership title, making the win sweeter still for Sundowns.
February 19 - Ertugral confirms Serero return
Former Ajax Cape Town, Ajax Amsterdam and Vitesse midfielder Thulani Serero's return to South African football for the first time in 14 years was officially confirmed as he joined Cape Town City as a free agent eight months after leaving Emirati club Khor Fakkan.
MARCH
March 6 - Sekhukhune sack Seema
Two days before they were set to face Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals, and right after he had faced the media in the build-up to the game, head coach Lehlohonolo Seema was sacked by Sekhukhune United, despite Babina Noko being in contention for CAF Confederation Cup qualification.
Adding to the drama, the game against Sundowns was later postponed due to a bizarre double-booking at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium.
March 8 - Kaizer Chiefs see off Stellenbosch in dramatic Nedbank Cup quarter-final
Chiefs may have been hurt by a contentious late refereeing call in the Soweto derby, but they benefitted against Stellenbosch FC in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals.
The game looked set for extra time after Stellies' late equaliser but in stoppage time, Pule Mmodi was allowed to score despite what looked like a foul on goalkeeper Sage Stephens in the build-up.
There was also debate over potential offside and handball calls which could easily have gone against Chiefs during the same passage of play. Stellenbosch threw everyone forward in search of another equaliser, leaving Mfundo Vilakazi free to seal a 3-1 win on the counter.
Chiefs' hopes of ending their 10-year trophy drought remain alive.
March 10 - Eric Tinkler appointed at Babina Noko
Former Vitória de Setúbal, Cagliari and Barnsley midfielder and Orlando Pirates head coach Tinkler had parted ways with Cape Town City before Ertugral's appointment.
Sekhukhune chose him as Seema's successor and he started with a 2-1 win over Marumo Gallants. However, a 2-1 loss to third-placed Stellenbosch FC left Sekhukhune playing catch-up in the race for a guaranteed CAF Confederation Cup spot.
Only the third-placed team will progress regardless of results in the Nedbank Cup, while a repeat of last season's final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates would see the fourth-placed team in the league also getting a spot. Sekhukhune currently sit in fifth place.
March 16 - Buccaneers get back at Sundowns
Relebohile Mofokeng's brace within the space of a minute handed Pirates a lifeline in the title race as they saw off Sundowns 2-1 at FNB Stadium a month and a half after their humiliating loss at Loftus. Sundowns hold a 15-point lead over Pirates, who have four games in hand.
March 17 - Ertugral and Cape Town City part ways
Only two and a half months after being appointed by City, Ertugral left his dual role as technical director and head coach. He had started superbly with wins over Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, but City have struggled for consistency and sit 13th in the league.
SABC Sport reported that the Turkish mentor was frustrated by the quality of players at his disposal. He has been replaced as interim head coach by Diogo Peral, who interestingly is being assisted by Lebogang Manyama and Roger de Sá.
It is unusual to see De Sá, who has been a head coach of Orlando Pirates and an assistant for the national teams of Egypt, Iran and Qatar, take up a role working under a head coach whose only experience as the man in charge was as a caretaker boss at City in May 2021.
However, with Peral having worked at the club as a reserve team coach from 2016-2019 and an assistant coach since 2020, he can at least ensure continuity before the new head coach takes over.
Former Ajax Cape Town boss Andries Ulderink had been reported as the frontrunner, but he subsequently took charge of Royal Antwerp in Belgium until the end of this season. We should know the identity of the next City boss in around three months, but as the last three months have shown, that can be a lifetime in South African football.
March 21 - Gavin Hunt's second SuperSport United stint ends
Gavin Hunt took the Premiership by storm in his first stint as head coach at SuperSport United, winning three straight titles from 2007/08 to 2009/10.
He was the last coach to win the league for any club other than Mamelodi Sundowns, leading Bidvest Wits to the title in 2016/17 before they sold their Premiership status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in 2020.
Hunt has not fared as well since in stints at Kaizer Chiefs, Chippa United and SuperSport United - where he returned as head coach in 2022. His time in charge came to an end on Friday, officially via "mutual agreement".
Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Andre Arendse was promoted from assistant to interim head coach.
We're sure there will be plenty more to follow, so stay tuned...