NWFL Premiership

NWFL Premiership
Founded1990
Country Nigeria
ConfederationCAF
Number of clubs12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNWFL Championship
Domestic cup(s)Nigerian Women's Cup
Champions Shield
International cup(s)CAF W-Champions League
Current championsEdo Queens (1st title)
Most championshipsRivers Angels & Pelican Stars (7 titles)
WebsiteThe NWFL
Current: 2023-24 NWFL Premiership

The NWFL Premiership (formerly Nigeria Women Premier League) is the top-level league for women's association football in Nigeria.[1][2] It is the women's equivalent of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for male players.[3][4] The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) organizes the Nigeria Women Premier League and the Nigeria Women Pro-league. In November 2017, Aisha Falode was elected chairperson of the league board, and was officially designated in January 2017.[5]

History

Women's football in Nigeria started in 1978 with the foundation of the NIFFOA (Nigeria Female Football Organising Association), renamed NIFFPA (Nigeria Female Football Proprietors Associations) in 1979, and joined by clubs like Jegede Babes, Ufuoma Babes, Larry Angels, Kakanfo Babes and others. The first championship was organised by the NFA in 1990. Ufuoma Babes were dominant in the 1990s, before succumbing to Pelican Stars, who won the league between 1997 and 2002. By the 2010s, Rivers Angels became more frequent in the super tournaments, a mini-tournament held annually among the top-placed teams, to determine the overall winner of the league. Despite the high frequency of the abridged format over the years, the 2014 league season saw a straight round-robin season in determining the league winners. However, by 2015, there was a reintroduction of the group system.

Since 2015, the league has enjoyed considerable success and improvement under the auspices of Aisha Falode, and have produced several players for the national team and cadet teams, with more than 70% of players who have been capped for the national team having played in the NWFL.[6][7] Since 2021, the league winners qualifies for the CAF Women's Champions League.

In the 2024 season, Edo Queens became the newest champions with their debut league win.[8]

Renaming

On 5 March 2020, the Nigeria Women Football League, the governing body of professional women's association football in Nigeria, announced the re-branding of the women's league, by unveiling a new logo and renaming the three tiers of the league under the tutelage of the NWFL.

With the rebranding, the Nigeria Women Premier League is now known as the NWFL Premiership, the second-tier league known as NWFL Championship (formerly NWFL Pro-League) while the third-tier division becomes the NWFL Nationwide (formerly NWFL Amateur League).[9]

The old NWFL logo

Format

The women's top division league in Nigeria usually follows an abridged format with a super tournament at the end of the season. The top teams in each group (sometimes 1, 2 or 3) will form the super tournament at the end of the regular season to determine the overall winner of the league. The last placed teams are normally relegated to the second division, while promoted teams from the lower division are also admitted into the league. Despite the high frequency of the abridged format over the years, the 2014 league season saw a straight round robin season in determining the league winners, however by 2015, there was a reintroduction of the group system.

Champions

The list of champions and runners-ups:[10][11]

Year Champions Runners-up
1990 Jegede Babes [12]
1991[13] Mande River State (River Mermaids)
1992 Ufuoma Babes[14]
1993 Ufuoma Babes[15]
1994 Rivers Angels SC[4] Jegede Babes
1995 Ufuoma Babes[15] Pelican Stars FC
1996 Ufuoma Babes[15]
1997 Pelican Stars FC[4]
1998 Pelican Stars FC[4]
1999 Pelican Stars FC[4] FCT Queens
2000 Pelican Stars FC[4] FCT Queens
2001 Pelican Stars FC FCT Queens
2002 Pelican Stars FC FCT Queens
2003 Delta Queens FC FCT Queens
2004 Bayelsa Queens Pelican Stars FC
2005 Pelican Stars FC Bayelsa Queens
2006 Bayelsa Queens Nasarawa Amazons
2007 Bayelsa Queens Nasarawa Amazons
2008 Delta Queens FC[16] Bayelsa Queens
2009 Delta Queens FC[17] Rivers Angels
2010 Rivers Angels/Pelican Stars[18][19][20][A]
2011 Delta Queens FC[21][22] River Angels SC
2012 Delta Queens FC[23][24] River Angels SC[25]
2013 Nasarawa Amazons[26][27] Rivers Angels
2014 Rivers Angels[28] Pelican Stars FC
2015 Rivers Angels[29][30] Bayelsa Queens
2016 Rivers Angels[31] Nasarawa Amazons[32]
2017 Nasarawa Amazons Delta Queens
2018 Bayelsa Queens[33] Nasarawa Amazons
2019 Rivers Angels[34] Confluence Queens
2020 Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic[35]
2020–21 Rivers Angels Delta Queens
2021–22 Bayelsa Queens Nasarawa Amazons
2022–23 Delta Queens Bayelsa Queens
2023–24 Edo Queens[8] Rivers Angels

Most successful clubs

Club Champions Runners-up Winning Seasons Runners-up Seasons
Pelican Stars FC (Calabar)
8
3
 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2010[a] 1995, 2004, 2014
Rivers Angels SC (Port Harcourt)
7
5
 1994, 2010,[a] 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020–21 2009,2011, 2012,2013, 2023–24
Delta Queens FC (Asaba)
6
2
 2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2022–23 2017, 2020–21
Bayelsa Queens (Yenagoa)
5
4
 2004, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2021–22 2005, 2008, 2015, 2022–23
Ufuoma Babes (Warri)
4
–
 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996
–
Nasarawa Amazons (Nasarawa)
2
5
 2013, 2017 2006, 2007, 2016, 2018, 2021–22
Jegede Babes (Lagos)
1
1
 1990 1995
Mande River State (Port Harcourt)
1
–
 1991
–
Edo Queens (Benin City)
1
–
 2023–24
–
  1. ^ a b Shared title

Individual honours

Top scorers

Year Player Team Goals
2013 Asisat Oshoala Rivers Angels 6
2014 Amarachi Orjinma Pelican Stars 17
2015 Rofiat Sule Bayelsa Queens 11
2016 Rofiat Sule Bayelsa Queens 9
2017 Reuben Charity Ibom Angels 8
Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
2018 Anam Imo Nasarawa Amazons 8
2019
2020–21 Gift Monday (regular season only) FC Robo 10
2021–22 Gift Monday Bayelsa Queens 10[a]
2022–23 Mercy Omokwu Delta Queens 9
2023–24 Ijamilusi Folashade Robo Queens 8
  1. ^ Regular season only

Player of the Season

Year Player Team
2015 Emueje Ogbiagbevha (super 6 only) Nasarawa Amazons[36]
2016 Rofiat Sule Bayelsa Queens
2017 Rasheedat Ajibade FC Robo
2018 Anam Imo[37] Nasarawa Amazons

Notes

  1. ^ There was no Super tournament this season but Pelican Stars topped group A, while Rivers Angels topped group B in the regular season

See also

References

  1. ^ "Onigbinde optimistic about better Women's league". Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Nigeria Women Football League Incorporated". Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. ^ "NFF wants Dame Jonathan to lead Falcons to Canada". Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Flourishing league kicks off again". BBC. 17 March 2001. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Falode, Okenwa head new NNL, NWFL boards". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  6. ^ "Aisha Falode pushing the boundaries in Nigeria". inside FIFA. 16 July 2023.
  7. ^ ""Invitation of players of Nigerian descent to Super Falcons will kill NWFL" FC Robo coach". bestchoicesports.com.ng. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Edo Queens win first ever NWFL title". Punchng.com. 26 May 2024.
  9. ^ "NWFL re-brands, unveils new logo in Lagos". Channelstv. 5 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Women: Nigeria: Championship". sports123.com. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Nigeria - List of Women Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  12. ^ "The forgotten Falcon". supersport.com.
  13. ^ "Technical Report FIFA Women World Cup 1991" (PDF). fifa.com. p. 84. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  14. ^ "No plans to resurrect Ufuoma Babes- Kuejebola". Futaa.com. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  15. ^ a b c "Africa: Ufuoma Babes Face Disbandment". PM News. December 31, 1998. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  16. ^ "Delta are women league champs". SuperSport. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  17. ^ "2009 Nigeria Women League Final". TideOnline.com. Tide News Website. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Football".
  19. ^ "Rivers Angels Eye more Trophy". TideOnline.com. The Tide News Website. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
  20. ^ "Women 2010/2011 football league season begins Jan 8". www.dailytrust.com.ng. Archived from the original on 2017-08-15.
  21. ^ "Rivers roast Ibom Queens in Cup tie". Super Sport. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  22. ^ "Super Falcon Ohale relishing Swedish move". BBC Sport.
  23. ^ "Nigeria: Delta Queens Win 2012 Women's League Super-Six". Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  24. ^ "Women's Premier League a reality". supersport.com.
  25. ^ "Rivers, Delta Do Battle For Women League Title In Super 6 Final". 2012.
  26. ^ "Nasarawa Amazons are Nigeria Women League Champions | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  27. ^ "Nasarawa Amazons upset Rivers Angels to lift League trophy - The Nation Nigeria". Archived from the original on 2017-08-15.
  28. ^ Ahmadu, Samuel (November 27, 2014). "Rivers Angels are Nigeria women league champions". Goal.com. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  29. ^ "Rivers Angels retain Nigeria Women Premier League title". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Abia hosts 2015 Nigeria Women Premier League Super Six". Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  31. ^ "NWFL: Obuah Congratulates Rivers Angels For Emerging As Winners".
  32. ^ Tide, The (23 January 2017). "Amazons Promise To Win Domestic Double Next Season".
  33. ^ "Bayelsa Queens get N22m from Governor Dickson for NWPL title win". Pulse. 29 January 2019.
  34. ^ "How Rivers Angels won the Nigeria Women Premier League title at 2019 NWPL". Pulse.ng. 3 October 2019.
  35. ^ "Coronavirus: Nigeria Women League 2019/20 Season Cancelled". July 8, 2020.
  36. ^ "From The Nigeria Women Football League To Topscore In Europe: The Story Of Emueje Ogbiagbevha". 3 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  37. ^ "Annam Imo named NWPL Player of the Season". Sport Compass. Retrieved 2019-02-08.