NPFL25 – The new Nigeria Premier Football League NPFL season is in full flow and teams are already making huge waves, as they continue to crown the improvement in the league and the grow the distance in rivalry.
Brand new season but different stories are beginning to unfold as opposed to in a few years back. Away win is becoming frequent and less surprising, signaling the distance between potential title contenders and relegation battlers.
Seven years ago in 2017, Plateau United, who won the league title picked up just 13 points in 19 away games, whereas Remo Stars has almost half of that after only two games this season, while also keeping clean sheets in both games.
That is an evidence to how much the teams are improving, as well as a sign that there is no limit to what teams can achieve when the owners are ambitious and committed to the success of their clubs. It is only bound to get better in NPFL25.
NPFL25: Continuing the transition of the top-flight
Since the 2022 campaign, the heavyweights in the league started to build a gap between themselves the minors. The likes of Enyimba international, Rivers United and Remo Stars have been consistent in the top four.
Securing a ticket for the continent they’ve made their season objective and they have been able to achieve that. In the process, they have also made the league become very competitive, with the winner not decided until the final weeks of the season.
Last season, Enugu Rangers were not crowned winner of the title until the final gameweek while the playoff of the abridge format in the season before was also decided on the final round of games in Lagos.
The expectation from the fans of these teams increases by season. Enyimba International and Enugu Rangers have won the title in the last two seasons while Remo Stars has finished in third and second.
Champions of 2022 Rivers United has never been out of the picture, and will fault the congested fixtures due to their participation in continental competition for their failure to really challenge domestically last term.
The heavyweights have also hit the ground running this term. Remo Stars, three wins out of three, and Rivers United, seven points from three games are currently having an explosive opening weeks, while Enyimba and Rangers are also unbeaten, though have only played one game each.
Tales of the minors
With everyone getting a customized identity, harsh lessons are being handed to teams who have failed to invest properly on the improvement of their teams.In years past, these teams have benefitted from the home results, which was consistent to some extent given how fans were able to intimidate the away side as well as the officials. Away wins or even draws ended in fracas.
However, sometimes you just have to realize you’re not good enough to compete when the away team has been so good. In 2021-2, which was a major breakthrough season for the league, Rivers United won the league by 77 points, the most in history of the competition.
That season, The Pride of Rivers won 22 points away from home. Since then, away wins have become more prominent in the league. Teams in the top half have been able to achieve double digits of points away from home.
During the abrige format season in 2023, the likes of Bendel Insurance, Enyimba international, Remo Stars and Akwa United were able to ammase double digit points on the road despite playing just nine away games.
Fans, who are the primary cause of misconduct in NPFL matches, have come to understand that their improper behaviors will not make team better but only make things worse when descended on by the league management.
In addition, the set rules and punishments handed to teams who have fallen victim of misconduct have also helped combact the rate at which riots happens in games.
Victims of misconducts and penalties in NPFL
In the 2021-22 season, four-time champion of the league, Kano Pillars fell into the second division after being docked six points and levied with additional sanctions deemed appropriate due to multiple breaches of the league’s Rules regarding the assault of match officials.
Despite concerns from fans that the points will be restored if the Northern team ended the season in the relegation zone. However the League Management Committee stood its ground and held on to the verdict. Kano Pillars ended up falling into the relegation pit by just three points.
The Pillars of Kano is just one of the many teams that have been made scapegoat of failing to adhere to the set rules by the league management. Last season, Gombe United also had six of its accrued points deduction last season.
Also last season, Enyimba international was fined a total of ten million naira following the events that occurred at the Oriental Derby against eventual champion, Rangers International in their Cathedral stadium, Enugu.
The club also had to forfeit the match as three points and as many goals were awarded to Rangers by the league management.Several other teams have also fallen victim and have been duly penalized with point deductions and sanctions, leading to the continuous rise in sanity of club, players and fans at large.
Increased incentives, broadcasts and sponsorships
The prize money for winning the NPFL title continues to rise every new season. The winner come the end of the NPFL25 season will earn N200 million, that amount is N50 million more than the winner of last season and N100 million more than the winner the season before.
Brands are also open to partnership and sponsoring teams who have presented themselves well for potential deals. The league has also started to be broadcasted on several platforms since the start of last season.
Fans also have access to match highlights and play-by-play updates from social media handles of clubs and top journalists committed to the growth of the league. Fans who missed any of their favourite club’s game and make up by watching the highlights, either on the club websites and social media handles or from other outlets reporting about the league.
These milestones continue to trigger the interest of locals in the league, hence the numbers of spectators in stadia continue to grow.
Harsh reality for Beyond Limits FA
The Academy team of Remo Stars, Beyond Limits FA had a sensational run in the second division last term, ending it with a promotion to the top-flight following their success in the NNL playoffs in Enugu back in June.
They had everything ready for the start of the season. Although the rule stated that no two teams owned by a single enterprise shall participate in the top-flight at the same time, they had hoped to still be able to take part by renouncing their affiliates with Remo Stars.
Unfortunately, even after the NPFL25 schedule had been done and featured them, they were replaced by Heartland of Owerri a few days into the start of the season, but before they were to takeon Enyimba international in a home fixture.
A statement released by the NPFL on the 3rd of September 2024 reads:
“There is one ownership of Beyond Limits Football Academy and Remo Stars, a club already competing in the NPFL, which constitutes a breach of Rule B11.4 of the NPFL Framework and Rules. As a result of this decision, the slot previously occupied by Beyond Limits Football Academy has been relinquished and subsequently handed over to Heartland FC. This decision aligns with Rule A5.2, which stipulates the criteria for club participation. Heartland FC met the requirements set by the NPFL board and was the only relegated club to interest in filling the vacancy.”
The Naze Millionaires (Heartland FC) has however not make a judicious use of the opportunity given to them. They currently occupy the bottom of the league standing after losing two of their opening three games.
Emmanuel Amunike‘s men have conceded more goals than any other team so far and for a club that finished 19th last season, it shows nothing much has improved even after the apportionment of a new coach.
NPFL rank amongst leagues in Africa
In recent years, the improvement of the league has been telling and it consistently move up in the ranking conducted by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, IFFHS. This year, the league moved into the top ten in Africa, becoming one of the three West African leagues in it.
The NPFL is appreciating and this is another year to live the thrill. It has not disappoint in its early days and we remain optimism about the birth of more reasons to celebrate the top-flight league of Nigeria.
2 Comments
We are getting it right
Thanks for the update and well detailed information