Is a player competing in the South African DSTV Diski Challenge (PSL Reserve League) now a professional footballer?

Now I want to consider the Diski league, sometimes referred to as the PSL reserve league. Just look through the 3 categories above and consider which of them the Diski league resembles?

The Diski league is played under the banner of PSL clubs, so players look, and are treated (certainly on match days) like, professionals. Sometimes crowds (outside of Covid-19 restrictions) in the Diski league can swell to the thousands, especially when some of the bigger clubs are competing. Some games are broadcast live on TV (all matches are filmed for highlight shows), with post-match interviews just like the PSL.

The Diski league has aspects that are very much the same as a professional league - it looks and feels like one on the surface, and that’s with real credit to those who conceived of the concept and have implemented it, which provides genuine experience for many of the above aspects that lower levels of the pyramid just don’t replicate. However, it’s an u21 league (with currently three ‘overs’ allowed at the time of writing).

But can we blame players for feeling as if ‘they’ve made it’ when playing in the Diski? As much as I'm sure coaches are reminding players at this level to keep their feet on the ground, I think it’s unrealistic to expect players to not just get just a little carried away. Modern society and social media reinforce ‘image’, especially at these younger ages when there is a need to prove oneself and highlight achievements. Give a young player a PSL tracksuit, or a photograph of him playing in PSL kit in a stadium, and try telling him not to share those pictures or post them on social media because he hasn’t really ‘made it'! Also, consider what the families and the communities of these young players see: Their boy on TV, or walking down the street in PSL clothing … he’s a role model, he’s now in the ‘big time’! It’s really tough for a young player to process that he is not ‘yet’ a fully-fledged professional footballer.

I’ve always found something that former Leicester City player Andy King shared with Bruce Nadin (Chaplin at Stellenbosch) really helpful in this conversation. He highlights that young players should not consider themselves professional footballer until they have started 50 senior professional games. The reality is that for one reason or another there are so many current/former players in South Africa who played a season at Diski level, or just a handful of games at NFD (or even PSL), and then not kicked on to a sustained professional football career.

For players who have recently broken through at these levels - it’s a significant achievement, where many will already be starting to more tangibly dream about what the next few years may look like. But are they aware, or even prepared for the fact that there are many who have been in their shoes who 12 months later end up playing in the ABC Motsepe (or SAB League)?

The next article unpacks some of the reasons this scenario exists, pointing especially to the small number of places available in pro football in SA, how the age restrictions in DISKI, NFD, ABC Motsepe & SAB cause a bottleneck in talent, as well as considering the psychological impact of kind of ‘making it’… but not fully.

Let’s consider you go to watch two matches: The first is an ABC Motsepe match (3rd tier of South African football), the second is a top-flight PSL match. What are some of the things that look different?

1. Overall professionalism

2. Facilities & crowd

3. TV & Media Coverage