Have you ever been curious about the amount of money football players earn in South Africa? As football fans, we tend to hear a lot about the salaries of our favourite players in the top five European leagues. However, let’s shift our attention to the rapidly expanding South African league and investigate how much its players earn.
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Average Footballer’s Salary in South Africa
African football has a rich heritage in South Africa that is often overlooked. Countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, and The Ivory Coast are usually the ones mentioned when African football is discussed, but with the recent success of the South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) in African club competitions, it is getting hard to ignore them.
The PSL is not only known for its standard pitches and TV coverage but also for its ability to generate sufficient revenue. This has led to players in the PSL being paid handsomely.
On average, football players in South Africa earn about $15,110 per month. However, this average is skewed due to the number of amateur players in the PSL. If we exclude the amateurs and focus on the first two to three years in the PSL, we see that the average salary increases to $25,000 per month.
When we narrow it down to the top 20 star players in the PSL, that number goes up to $120,000 per month, which is impressive considering that these clubs pay their players without any salary delays or other issues.
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Comparison with Europe
We have previously mentioned the high pay rates in the South African Premier Soccer League (PSL), but it’s important to compare these rates with those of the top football leagues in the world. This will help us understand the gap between the South African League and the best leagues in Europe.
Let’s start with the English Premier League, where footballers earn a staggering $392,000 per month. In Spain, the average monthly salary is $226,770, in Italy it’s $170,904, in France it’s $160,404, and in Germany, it’s $186,280.
These numbers from the top five leagues in Europe are significantly higher than what we see in the South African PSL. However, we can hope that as football in South Africa continues to grow, PSL players may one-day command wages similar to those of the top five leagues in Europe.
Before that happens, it’s worth examining how the wages of the South African PSL compare to those of other prominent leagues in Africa.
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Other Parts of Africa
In many African countries, football clubs struggle financially and can’t afford necessities such as team buses or players’ salaries. However, some countries have seen an improvement in recent years. The Kenyan League secured a lucrative sponsorship deal, allowing clubs to pay their players’ salaries promptly. Ghana pays an average salary of $1000 per month, while Morocco offers $7000 per month.
Rwanda, Gabon, and Zimbabwe offer salaries of around $2000 per month. Surprisingly, some countries offer salaries that match or exceed those in South Africa.
For instance, in Tunisia, the average footballer earns $30,000 per month, while in Angola, it’s $25,000 per month, and in DR Congo, it’s $20,000 per month.
Zambia and Ethiopia pay around $7000 per month on average.
These numbers show that South Africa is not the only country in Africa where you can play football and earn decent and consistent wages, which is encouraging for fans and prospective footballers. Nonetheless, the South African League is the most lucrative in African football at the moment.
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Conclusion
To reiterate, Football players earn an average of $15,110 per month in South Africa if Amateur players are considered. But if not, players earn $25,000 per month.
Although the salary gap between African and European footballers remains significant, it is reassuring to note that there has been some improvement. An increasing number of clubs are now able to comfortably pay their players a decent salary. This progress is indicative that the future of African football is bright and limitless.
Finally, It is also important to mention again that the South African League is the richest in Africa, and hopefully, more Leagues in Africa will rival it in the near future.
