The 2020/21 PSL campaign gets underway this weekend with the annual MTN8 competition. The top eight teams from last season’s league campaign will be pitted together for a shot at the first piece of silverware of the season.
The tournament follows a consistent seeding format each year with first taking on eighth, second taking on seventh, third taking on sixth and fourth taking on fifth in the MTN8 quarterfinals.
Newcomers Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila get the action underway on Saturday afternoon against the defending MTN8 Champions SuperSport United before Orlando Pirates host Cape Town City FC in the evening.
Kaizer Chiefs host Maritzburg United on Sunday afternoon before Mamelodi Sundowns and Bloemfontein Celtic complete the MTN8 quarterfinal round on Sunday evening.
MTN8: Quarterfinal fixtures in full
Saturday, 17 October
- TTM vs SuperSport United at Thohoyandou Stadium, kick-off at 15:00
- Orlando Pirates vs Cape Town City at Orlando Stadium, kick-off at 18:00
Sunday, 18 October
- Kaizer Chiefs vs Maritzburg United at FNB Stadium, kick-off at 15:00
- Mamelodi Sundowns vs Bloemfontein Celtic at Lucas Moripe Stadium, kick-off at 18:00
MTN8 prize money
The champions of the MTN8 tournament walk away with a whopping R8 million while the seven remaining sides walk away with R800 000 each.
Previous MTN8 winners
SuperSport United, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have all won the MTN8 title twice since its inception in 2008 while Mamelodi Sundowns will be desperate to get their hands on the elusive title this time around.
- 2008 – Kaizer Chiefs
- 2009 – Golden Arrows
- 2010 – Orlando Pirates
- 2011 – Orlando Pirates
- 2012 – Moroka Swallows
- 2013 – Platinum Stars
- 2014 – Kaizer Chiefs
- 2015 – Ajax Cape Town
- 2016 – Bidvest Wits
- 2017 – Supersport United
- 2018 – Cape Town City
- 2019 – Supersport United
MTN8 quarterfinals predictions
As far as my predictions are concerned, I’ll be playing it safe by backing SuperSport United, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns to proceed to the MTN8 semi-finals. I’m also expecting low scoring matches in all four quarterfinals given the fact that it’s the first game of the season following both an extremely short off-season and pre-season.
