The curtains came down on one of the longest-running and richest knockout cup competitions in the land when FNB on Wednesday withdrew their sponsorship of the Bob Save Super Bowl after an association of 13 years with professional soccer.
But the loss of the massive financial backing could be somehow off-set by the signing of a new sponsorship with Coca-Cola.
The soft drink company is expected to announce an R80-million, five-year deal in Sandton on Thursday.
PSL CEO Robin Petersen said their contract with FNB actually expired last year but a one-season extension was negotiated with the hope that the bank would commit themselves to a longer contract.
"We were aware that FNB were reviewing their business strategies and we knew there was a possibility that they may not renew our contract," said Petersen.
However, none of the principals was prepared to confirm or deny whether the decision to stage the last Bob Save Super Bowl final as a curtain-raiser to the season-ending Kaizer Chiefs-Orlando Pirates league match could have been the root cause of the fall out.
Although organisers, the PSL, and both finalists Santos and Sundowns publicly said they were party to the agreement to play ahead of the postponed derby between Chiefs and Pirates, there are rumours that not everyone was happy with the decision and that both the sponsors and finalists were coerced into accepting the arrangement.
FNB spokesperson Vicky Trehaeven denied the rumours and said the withdrawal was solely a business decision.
"I have been personally involved with the Bob Save since its inception," said Trehaeven. "And it is certainly not hard but also tough and heartbreaking to finally withdraw from a competition we have helped develop into the biggest in the country.
"We have been there during hard and good times with the then NSL and also with the PSL. And when the country was re-admitted to Fifa, we were there. It wasn't an easy decision to make.
"But we will remain involved with soccer on a smaller scale.
"We are still involved in helping the transfer of ownership of the FNB Stadium from the FNB Trust to Safa and, of course, still have naming rights to the stadium but, it's adios as far as the Bob Save is concerned."