How many substitutes can each team use?
Rule- South Africa
- PSL
- Betway Premiership
- NSL Handbook
- Professional football
- Senior
- 2026/27
- Fans
On the team sheet: each club names 11 starters and 9 substitutes (NSL Handbook Rule 16.2).
In the match: the IFAB Laws of the Game (Law 3.2, 2026/27), which all PSL matches follow, allow no more than five substitutes to be used in an official competition. In top-division club competitions using five substitutes, each team gets:
- three substitution opportunities during play, plus
- changes at half-time, which don't count as an opportunity
Several changes at the same stoppage count as one opportunity.
New for 2026/27, a substituted player must be off the field within ten seconds of the board going up, or the substitute has to wait until the first stoppage after one minute of play.
In cup ties that go to extra time, such as the Carling Knockout, each club also gets one extra substitute and one extra opportunity.
Added 22 Oct 2026