Premier Netball League (South Africa)

Premier Netball League
SportNetball
Founded2014
AdministratorNetball South Africa
No. of teams15
CountrySouth Africa
Most recent
champion(s)		Free State Crinums (4th title)
Most titlesGauteng Jaguars (6 titles)
TV partner(s)SuperSport
Sponsor(s)Telkom
Level on pyramid1–2
Official websiteTelkom 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.

History

Inaugural season

Brutal Fruit Netball Cup era logo

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]

Free State Crinums

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]

Gauteng Jaguars

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]

Expansion

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 the 2022 promotion/relegation play off.[31]

2025 teams

Division One

Team City/Suburb Province
Eastern Cape Aloes Eastern Cape
Free State Crinums University of the Free State Free State
Gauteng Golden Fireballs Gauteng
Gauteng Jaguars University of Pretoria Gauteng
Limpopo Baobabs Polokwane Limpopo
Southern Stings Western Cape
North West Flames North West

Division Two

Team City/Suburb Province
Eastern Cape Comets Eastern Cape
Free State Sonoblomo Free State
Kingdom Queens KwaZulu-Natal
Kingdom Stars Durban KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo Lillies Limpopo
Mpumalanga Sunbirds Mpumalanga
Northern Cape Diamonds Northern Cape
Western Cape Tornadoes Western Cape

Source:[32]

Finals/Play offs

Division One

Season Winners Score Runners Up Venue
2014[5][6] Free State Crinums 40–36 Gauteng Jaguars University of Pretoria[3]
2015[10][33][34] Free State Crinums 61–59 Gauteng Jaguars University of Pretoria
2016[11][35] Free State Crinums 52–43 Gauteng Jaguars Olive Centre, Durban
2017[19][36] Gauteng Jaguars 49–43 North West Flames Mangaung Indoor Centre, Bloemfontein
2018[20][37] Gauteng Jaguars 51–43 Southern Stings University of Pretoria
2019[21][38] Gauteng Jaguars 53–38 Southern Stings University of Pretoria
2020[22][39] Gauteng Jaguars 38–26 Free State Crinums Mangaung Indoor Sports Center, Bloemfontein
2021[23][40] Gauteng Jaguars 53–41 Southern Stings Rustenburg
2022[17][41][42] Gauteng Golden Fireballs 35–32 Gauteng Jaguars Heartfelt Arena
2023[25][43] Gauteng Jaguars 59–51 Free State Crinums Heartfelt Arena
2024[14][15] Free State Crinums 47–46 Gauteng Jaguars Ellis Park Arena

Division Two Shield

Season Winners Score Runners Up Venue
2014[7][8] Southern Stings 39–31 Kingdom Stars University of Pretoria
2015[10][44] Kingdom Stars 38–35 Eastern Cape Aloes University of Pretoria
2019[45] Kingdom Stars 45–43 Eastern Cape Aloes University of Pretoria
2020[46] Eastern Cape Aloes 35–31 Kingdom Queens Mangaung Indoor Sports Center, Bloemfontein
2021[47][48] Eastern Cape Aloes Western Cape Tornados Rustenburg
2022[49][50] Eastern Cape Aloes 48–43 Mpumalanga Sunbirds Heartfelt Arena
2023[51][52] Limpopo Baobabs 65–40 Western Cape Tornados Heartfelt Arena
2024[53] Kingdom Stars 37–35 Eastern Cape Comets Ellis Park Arena

Promotion/Relegation

Season Winners Score Runners Up Venue
2014[5][9] Southern Stings 52–40 Eastern Cape Aloes University of Pretoria
2015[44] Gauteng Golden Fireballs Kingdom Stars University of Pretoria
2019[21] Kingdom Stars 59–57 Gauteng Golden Fireballs University of Pretoria
2020[22] Kingdom Stars 54–30 Eastern Cape Aloes Mangaung Indoor Sports Center, Bloemfontein
2021[23] North West Flames 49–40 Eastern Cape Aloes Rustenburg
2022[54][55] Eastern Cape Aloes 42–39 Kingdom Stars Heartfelt Arena
2023[56][57] Limpopo Baobabs 55–37 Kingdom Stars Heartfelt Arena
2024[14] Limpopo Baobabs 65–40 Kingdom Stars Ellis Park Arena

Sponsorship

Sponsors Seasons
Brutal Fruit[2][3][4][26] 2014–2018
Telkom[26][29][31] 2019–

References

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