Four-time league-winning coach Gavin Hunt feels the PSL needs a reboot amid the loss of historical clubs due to status sales.
At the start of the 2022/23 season, eight of the 16 clubs were less than 10 years in existence and at the end of it all, the status of the now-defunct Bidvest Wits was relegated in the form of Marumo Gallants.
Hunt won the 2016/17 league title with the club and three years later, it was sold to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila after Bidvest pulled out of their investment in the club.
TTM then sold their status to Marumo Gallants after retaining their status and winning the Nedbank Cup and despite a heroic semi-final run to the CAF Confederation Cup this past campaign, they finished 16th and secured automatic relegation to the second tier.
Hunt feels the trend has ‘weakened the league’ before he shared his opinion on the lack of history in the top flight at present.
“I’ve got my view about [status sales], I think football in South Africa needs a reboot, everything, from playing squads being to big, smaller playing squads, grounds, having to stay at one ground, it needs a reboot,” Hunt said when asked by iDiski Times.
“This name change thing as well, you cannot be doing that, when you buy a franchise, you must stay there and you must name it whatever the name is, it’s Celtic, it must stay Celtic, not become Royal AM, if it’s Wits it must stay at Wits and become Wits University.
“People associated themselves with names and brands and when you start changing… I mean where do Gallants play, you don’t know where they play, where do they come from, where, how?
“I think it needs a big reboot and also don’t always talk about the problems, let’s get solutions, let’s find a way, get our heads together and take the game, let’s take the game again.
“When the PSL started with this new sponsorship with Multichoice it was like a reboot and sometimes we need to keep doing that you know, let’s see…”
Hunt returns to CAF inter-club football after leading SuperSport United to third place in his first season since his return to the club.
