South African football is about to take center stage as the ABSA Premiership kicks off this weekend. The PSL, Africa’s most profitable league, offers its eventual winners R10 million in prize money and a slew of excellent marketing opportunities with its lucrative TV rights deal with SuperSport which was first sealed for R1.6 billion in 2007.

The first fixture of the PSL will see last year’s champions Mamelodi Sundowns take on Maritzburg United who recently sealed a R12 million three year deal to play their games in Pietermaritzburg.

Other key opening weekend fixtures will see SuperSport United play against Bidvest Wits and Orlando Pirates play Moroka Swallows. Elsewhere, 2012/2013 champions Kaizer Chiefs will travel to face Free State Stars.

The first Soweto derby of the season will be played on November 1 at the 90,000 capacity FNB Stadium as perennial rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will lock horns in a yearly fight for supremacy that is sure to draw millions of viewers from across the world with the January 2013 fixture between the two teams reportedly attracting 540 million TV viewers.

ABSA Bank has sponsored the PSL since 2007 and is currently running an activation campaign which offers new account holders R150 off purchases of replica jerseys of their favourite clubs.

ABSA Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Barclays Africa Group with operations primarily in South Africa and Namibia.