The South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) 2025-26 season will kick off with the MTN8 quarterfinals on August 2-3.
The single-leg knockout tournament consists of the top eight teams in last season's Betway Premiership. The teams are seeded according to last season's league position.
As a result, the winner of last season's Premiership (Mamelodi Sundowns) will play the eighth-placed team in the league (Richards Bay), with second playing seventh, third taking on sixth and fourth and fifth squaring off.
Below is the full quarter-final lineup, with each team's position in last season's Premiership indicated in brackets and kick-off times listed using CAT. The action can be followed live on SuperSport.
Orlando Pirates (2nd) vs Polokwane City (7th)
August 2, 15:00 CAT
The Buccaneers will host Rise and Shine at Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon to kick off the competition. This could be an opportunity to watch some of Pirates' many new signings in action.
Among the key additions to the squad are former Polokwane City winger Oswin Appollis and headline-grabbing midfielder Sipho 'Masterchef' Mbule.
This will also be the official start of the Abdeslam Ouaddou era at Orlando Pirates. The Moroccan mentor took over from Spaniard José Riveiro as head coach following the latter's departure to Al Ahly.
Pirates had a pre-season tour of Spain, leaving them well-prepared for the upcoming season. After winning the last three MTN8 titles, a fourth in a row would be a major statement of intent as they look to lift the Premiership for the first time since 2012.
Sekhukhune United (4th) vs TS Galaxy (5th)
August 2, 18:00
Sekhukhune United have had back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the Betway Premiership, but have yet to win their first trophy. The closest they have come was in the 2022-23 season, when they lost the Nedbank Cup final to Orlando Pirates.
They will begin their campaign for a first ever cup against TS Galaxy at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.
Eric Tinkler, who came on board as head coach midway through the season as head coach, steered Cape Town City to the 2016 Telkom Knockout (now Carling Knockout) and SuperSport United to the 2017-18 MTN8.
With PSL Footballer of the Season nominee Keletso Makgalwa onboard for now despite consistent speculation of a potential departure, Sekhukhune should not be written off.
However, they will be coming up against a club with a history of performing miracles. They won the 2018-19 Nedbank Cup, shocking Kaizer Chiefs in the final, despite being in the second tier at the time.
TS Galaxy have had off-field issues, however, with a FIFA transfer ban and alleged player payment issues hanging over them. In that sense, it is a miracle that the club has kept the ship steady on the pitch. Now, once again, the Rockets will shoot for the moon.
Stellenbosch (3rd) vs AmaZulu (6th)
August 3, 15:00
Stellenbosch have had two remarkable third-place finishes in a row in the Betway Premiership despite a steady stream of departures. The Cape Winelands club have offset those by recruiting well and promoting players from their DSTV Diski Challenge team.
Following the departures of Fawaaz Basadien to Mamelodi Sundowns, Sihle Nduli to Orlando Pirates, Tylon Smith to QPR and Ismaël Olivier Touré to FC Baniyas; Stellies will once again face the challenge of proving they can adapt.
The visit of AmaZulu at Cape Town's DHL Stadium on Sunday will be the first test of their resolve this season. Usuthu have several experienced stars in their squad, including Richard Ofori, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Bongani Zungu and Ben Motshwari.
However, all of those players started the last game between these two sides and Stellies still emerged with a 1-0 win.
Mamelodi Sundowns (1st) vs Richards Bay (8th)
August 3, 18:00
Sundowns will be in competitive action for the first time since an impressive FIFA Club World Cup campaign, where they won an estimated US$12.55 million in prize money and represented South Africa superbly.
They will host Richards Bay at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium in the last of the four quarter-finals. New signing Basadien could make his debut at left-back, while the game might also give fans a glimpse of Miguel Cardoso's priority players among his giant squad in the upcoming season.
Why aren't Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN8?
For the second season in a row, Kaizer Chiefs - South Africa's best-supported club - failed to qualify for the MTN8 as a result of their failure to finish in the top eight in the Premiership.
Having had their worst ever finish - 10th place - in 2023-24 with Cavin Johnson in charge for the majority of the season, Amakhosi fared only marginally better in 2024-25 under Nasreddine Nabi with a ninth-place finish.
However, Nabi was able to guide Chiefs to the Nedbank Cup title - their first trophy in 10 years - as they beat fierce Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the final. He remains in the hotseat at Naturena, but will not be able to compete for more silverware in the MTN8 this season.