Orlando Pirates beware: Record of defending Betway Premiership champions in season opener

[p]In the previous 29 seasons of the Premiership since it was first played in the 1996/97 campaign, the league title holders have won only 16 times in their opening game of the following campaign.[/p][p]There have been eight draws and five defeats, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mamelodi-sundowns/lxZ6Bzh6/"]Mamelodi Sundowns[/a]’ 1-1 draw at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/chippa-utd/AiZa0UPS/"]Chippa United[/a] in their first game of last season a testament to how rustiness can affect the result.[/p][p]Those five defeats were also largely unexpected. Champions Sundowns lost their opening league fixture twice, to Umtata Bush Bucks in 2000 and then to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/amazulu/4jYGJsW7/"]AmaZulu[/a] in 2007.[/p][p]The other defending champions to lose their opening game in defence of their title were [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/orlando-pirates/p4SF9EMI/"]Pirates[/a] in 2003, when SuperSport United beat them, and then SuperSport themselves in 2010, when they suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/bidvest-wits/OGvCsoOE/"]Bidvest Wits[/a]. Wits, in turn, lost their opening game in 2017 to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-town-city/l8K0DYSm/"]Cape Town City[/a].[/p][embed guid="46fbaec4-bd7b-4928-a3cf-c3e09d75dac9" url="https://x.com/orlandopirates/status/2082511592726352302?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Pirates have started a season as defending champions on four previous occasions in the last 30 years.[/p][p]Aside from that defeat to SuperSport, they beat Bush Bucks at home in 2001, won away at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/black-leopards/joVtOm40/"]Black Leopards[/a] in 2011 and defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/golden-arrows/C6CjDdNg/"]Lamontville Golden Arrows[/a] at home in 2012.[/p][p]Before this campaign, Sundowns had been defending champions for eight years in a row and won six of their opening league matches. Aside from the draw with Chippa, they were also held by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kaizer-chiefs/fFZ2CGx0/"]Kaizer Chiefs[/a] in 2018.[/p][p]AmaKhosi had four opening games as champions themselves and won three of them, before also being held by Chippa in 2015.[/p][embed guid="d7f09d22-56cf-4dba-922b-11c234f0176b" url="https://x.com/Masandawana/status/2082532015908209138?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Performances of defending champions in their first game of the following Betway Premiership season:[/b][/p][p][b]1997-98: [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/cape-town-spurs/QaZCKNG1/"]Cape Town Spurs[/a] 0 [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manning-rangers/8EFBbQYB/"]Manning Rangers[/a] 3[/b][/p][p][b]1998-99: [/b]Cape Town Spurs 1 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 1[/b][/p][p][b]1999-00:[/b] SuperSport United 1 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 4[/b][/p][p][b]2000-01: Mamelodi Sundowns 0 [/b]Umtata Bush Bucks 1[/p][p][b]2001-02: Orlando Pirates 2 [/b]Umtata Bush Bucks 1[/p][p][b]2002-03:[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jomo-cosmos/SUIhhw7i/"]Jomo Cosmos[/a] 2 [b]Santos 3[/b][/p][p][b]2003-04: [/b]SuperSport United 2 [b]Orlando Pirates 0[/b][/p][p][b]2004-05:[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dynamos/vRo9MMET/"]Dynamos[/a] 1 [b]Kaizer Chiefs 4[/b][/p][p][b]2005-06: [/b]Bush Bucks 0 [b]Kaizer Chiefs 1[/b][/p][p][b]2006-07: [/b]AmaZulu 0 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 0[/b][/p][p][b]2007-08: Mamelodi Sundowns 1[/b] AmaZulu 2[/p][p][b]2008-09: SuperSport United 1[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/free-state-stars/f31qPx8m/"]Free State Stars[/a] 0[/p][p][b]2009-10: [/b]Maritzburg United 1[b] SuperSport United 1[/b][/p][p][b]2010-11: [/b]Bidvest Wits 3 [b]SuperSport United 0[/b][/p][p][b]2011-12:[/b] Black Leopards 0 [b]Orlando Pirates 2[/b][/p][p][b]2012-13:[/b] [b]Orlando Pirates 2[/b] Lamontville Golden Arrows 1[/p][p][b]2013-14:[/b] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/black-aces/MFYmqktQ/"]Mpumalanga Black Aces[/a] 0 [b]Kaizer Chiefs 1[/b][/p][p][b]2014-15: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 [/b]Maritzburg United 1[/p][p][b]2015-16: [/b]Chippa United 0 [b]Kaizer Chiefs 0[/b][/p][p][b]2016-17: [/b]Maritzburg United 0 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 0[/b][/p][p][b]2017-18: Bidvest Wits 0 [/b]Cape Town City 1[/p][p][b]2018-19: Mamelodi Sundowns 1[/b] Kaizer Chiefs 1[/p][p][b]2019-20: Mamelodi Sundowns 2[/b] SuperSport United 0[/p][p][b]2020-21:[/b] Kaizer Chiefs 0 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 3[/b][/p][p][b]2021-22: Mamelodi Sundowns 1 [/b]AmaZulu 0[/p][p][b]2022-23: [/b]Cape Town City 0 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 2[/b][/p][p][b]2023-24: [/b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sekhukhune/UySmgAPp/"]Sekhukhune United[/a] 1 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 2[/b][/p][p][b]2024-25: Mamelodi Sundowns 2[/b] SuperSport United 0[/p][p][b]2025-26: [/b]Chippa United 1 [b]Mamelodi Sundowns 1[/b][/p]