2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League

Nigeria Professional Football League
Season	2021–22
Promoted	Niger Tornadoes; Shooting Stars; Remo Stars; Gombe United;
Matches played	190
Goals scored	361 (1.9 per match)
Top goalscorer	Ishaq Rafiu (11 goals)
Biggest home win	Plateau United 5–0 Dakkada (16 January 2022)
Biggest away win	Heartland 0–3 Enugu Rangers (21 January 2022); Akwa United 0–3 Enugu Rangers (13 March 2022)
Highest scoring	Enugu Rangers 5–3 Lobi Stars (19 March 2022)
Longest winning run	Plateau United (5 matches)
Longest unbeaten run	Plateau United & Remo Stars (11 matches)
Longest winless run	Heartland & MFM (7 matches)
Longest losing run	Heartland , MFM & Lobi Stars (5 matches)
	← 2020–21 → All statistics correct as of 20 March 2022.

The 2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League is the 51st season of Nigeria's top-flight association football league and the 32nd since attaining professionalism. The season started on 17 December 2021 and is expected to conclude on 22 July 2022.^[1]

This season sees Shooting Stars returning to the top-flight after a four years hiatus, likewise Niger Tornadoes who won the play-offs. They are also joined by Remo Stars and Gombe United after securing promotion from the second division.^[2] Akwa United are the defending champions.

Following a deal with RedStrike, selected matches can be viewed live on NPFL TV and on NTA Sports for a consecutive season.^[3]

Teams information[]

Remo

Uyo

Enyimba

Tornadoes

Gombe

Uyo teams:
Akwa
Dakkada

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Locations of the 2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League teams

Clubs[]

Team	Location	Stadium	Head Coach
Abia Warriors	Umuahia	^[a]	Imama Amapakabo
Akwa United F.C.	Uyo	Godswill Akpabio International Stadium^[b]	Ali Jolomi (interim)
Dakkada	Uyo	Godswill Akpabio International Stadium^[b]	Danlami Kwasau
Enugu Rangers	Enugu	^[c]
Enyimba	Aba	Enyimba International Stadium	Finidi George
Gombe United	Gombe	Pantami Stadium	Aliyu Zubairu
Heartland F.C.	Owerri	Dan Anyiam Stadium	Erasmus Onuh
Kano Pillars	Kano	Ahmadu Bello Stadium^[d]	Salisu Yusuf
Katsina United	Katsina	Muhammadu Dikko Stadium	Azeez Mohammed
Kwara United	Ilorin	Kwara State Stadium	Abdullahi Biffo
Lobi Stars	Makurdi	Aper Aku Stadium	Eddy Dombraye
MFM F.C.	Lagos	Teslim Balogun Stadium^[e]	Gabriel Olalekan
Nasarawa United	Lafia	Lafia Township Stadium	Bala Nikyu
Niger Tornadoes	Minna	FIFA Goal Project Field MKO Abiola Stadium^[f]
Plateau United	Jos	New Jos Stadium	Fidelis Ilechukwu
Remo Stars	Ikenne		Gbenga Ogunbote
Rivers United	Port Harcourt	Yakubu Gowon Stadium	Stanley Eguma
Shooting Stars	Ibadan	Lekan Salami Stadium	Edith Agoye
Sunshine Stars	Akure	Dipo Dina Stadium^[g]	Deji Ayeni
Wikki Tourists F.C.	Bauchi	Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium	Kabiru Dogo

^ Abia Warriors play their home matches at , Okigwe due to the poor state of their original stadium, .
^ Dakkada played three home matches at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.^[4]
^ Enugu Rangers currently play their home matches at in Nnewi as renovation works are being carried out at their regular stadium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
^ Kano Pillars play their home matches at Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna instead of their stadium Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano as it does not meet LMC requirements. Kano Pillars will also temporarily play at Mohammed Dikko Stadium, Katsina.
^ MFM play their home matches at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos as their stadium, Agege Stadium is undergoing renovation works. However, they played their first match at the Onikan Stadium.
^ Niger Tornadoes are to temporarily play their home matches at Abuja as their original stadium, Minna Township Stadium is being renovated. Tornadoes also played their first three home games at the Kwara State Stadium, Ilorin.
^ Sunshine Stars temporarily play their home matches at Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode as their regular stadium, Akure Township Stadium, Akure does not meet the LMC requirements.

Managerial changes[]

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of departure	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
Heartland	Hassan Abdallah	Resignation	2 February	Erasmus Onuh	5 February^[5]
Akwa United	Kennedy Boboye	Resignation	13 February^[6]	Ali Jolomi (interim)	14 February

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Rivers United	19	12	6	1	31	9	+22	42	Qualification for the
2	Plateau United	19	13	2	4	30	10	+20	41	Qualification for the
3	Enugu Rangers	19	9	7	3	25	10	+15	34	Qualification for the
4	Remo Stars	19	9	5	5	21	9	+12	32
5	Kwara United	19	9	4	6	19	17	+2	31
6	Akwa United	19	7	6	6	16	18	−2	27
7	Wikki Tourists	19	8	3	8	15	17	−2	27
8	Sunshine Stars	19	7	5	7	19	16	+3	26
9	Shooting Stars	19	7	5	7	18	18	0	26
10	Enyimba	19	7	5	7	14	16	−2	26
11	Gombe United	19	6	6	7	15	15	0	24
12	Kano Pillars	19	7	3	9	13	16	−3	24
13	Abia Warriors	19	5	7	7	20	20	0	22
14	Nasarawa United	19	5	7	7	20	23	−3	22
15	Katsina United	19	6	3	10	16	22	−6	21
16	Dakkada	19	6	3	10	18	28	−10	21
17	Niger Tornadoes	19	5	5	9	12	18	−6	20	Relegation to the National League
18	Heartland	19	5	5	9	13	28	−15	20
19	Lobi Stars	19	5	4	10	15	26	−11	19
20	MFM	19	4	5	10	11	25	−14	17

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2022. Source: NPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored

Results[]

Home \ Away	ABI	AKW	DAK	ENU	ENY	GOM	HEA	KAN	KAT	KWA	LOB	MFM	NAS	NIG	PLA	REM	RIV	3SC	SUN	WIK
Abia Warriors		0–0	1–1				1–0		2–2	1–1			1–1				1–1	2–1	1–0	3–0
Akwa United			3–2	0–3		1–0	0–0	3–0	2–0	1–1									0–0	2–0
Dakkada				0–0	2–0	0–1		1–0			2–1	2–0	2–1	2–1		1–1				0–1
Enugu Rangers	2–1				0–1	1–0		0–0			5–3	2–0	1–0	4–0	0–1	0–0
Enyimba	2–1	1–0							2–1			1–1		1–1	1–1	2–1	0–1	1–0
Gombe United	1–0				0–0						3–0	3–0		1–0	1–1	1–0	0–0	0–0
Heartland			1–0	0–3	1–0	1–1		0–1			1–0	0–0	3–3	1–0						1–0
Kano Pillars	2–1				2–0	3–1					0–0	1–0	2–0	1–0	0–1	0–0	0–1
Katsina United			4–1	1–2		2–1	1–1	1–0		1–0	0–0								1–0	1–0
Kwara United			3–0	1–1	1–0	2–0	2–1	1–0			1–0			1–0						1–0
Lobi Stars	1–2	1–0			1–0							2–1		1–1	0–2	1–0	1–1	2–1
MFM	2–1	0–0							1–0	1–2					1–0	0–2	1–3	0–1	1–0
Nasarawa United		2–0			2–1	1–1			1–0	1–1	2–1	1–1		1–0					1–1
Niger Tornadoes	1–1	0–1							2–1			1–1			1–0	1–0	0–0	2–0	1–0
Plateau United	1–0	3–0	5–0				3–0		1–0	1–0			3–2				1–0	3–1	2–0
Remo Stars	1–0	0–1					3–0		2–0	3–0			0–0		1–0		1–1	1–0	3–0
Rivers United		4–1	2–1				3–1		3–0	3–0			2–1		1–0			2–0	0–0	3–0
Shooting Stars		1–1	1–0	1–1			4–0	1–0	1–0	2–1			1–0						2–2	0–0
Sunshine Stars			2–1	0–0	0–1	2–0	3–1	3–0		1–0	3–0									2–1
Wikki Tourists				0–0	0–0	1–0		2–1			1–0	3–0	2–0	1–0	2–1	1–2

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2022. Source: NPFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Positions by round[]

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
Abia Warriors	15	8	7	11	17	8	12	14	14	14	13	15	15	16	15	15	16	13	13
Akwa United	1	3	2	5	7	4	6	9	7	7	7	8	6	5	6	4	6	6	6
Dakkada	20	11	14	14	8	13	16	17	16	18	17	18	18	19	18	19	17	19	16
Enugu Rangers	5	7	8	3	4	3	3	3	3	4	6	4	3	4	5	5	4	3	3
Enyimba	4	2	5	9	3	5	7	4	4	5	4	5	7	7	8	7	8	9	10
Gombe United	12	15	17	10	16	15	18	13	15	15	14	10	8	9	10	9	10	10	11
Heartland	7	16	10	17	9	12	17	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	17	18	15	18	18
Kano Pillars	19	17	20	15	20	11	15	12	10	11	11	14	16	14	14	14	12	14	12
Katsina United	16	19	15	18	13	18	14	18	18	16	18	17	17	17	19	17	19	16	15
Kwara United	2	5	4	4	5	9	5	10	8	8	5	7	5	6	5	6	5	4	5
Lobi Stars	9	13	6	13	6	10	11	8	13	13	15	12	13	13	13	13	14	17	19
MFM	18	20	16	19	14	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Nasarawa United	8	12	11	7	11	7	10	7	11	10	9	9	11	10	11	11	11	12	14
Niger Tornadoes	6	9	9	16	19	20	13	16	17	17	16	16	12	15	16	16	18	15	17
Plateau United	17	10	13	8	12	6	4	5	5	3	3	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Remo Stars	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	1	3	4	4	3	3	3	5	4
Rivers United	10	4	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
Shooting Stars	11	14	18	12	18	17	19	15	12	6	10	6	10	12	12	12	13	11	9
Sunshine Stars	14	18	19	20	15	14	8	11	9	12	12	13	14	8	9	8	9	7	8
Wikki Tourists	13	6	12	6	10	16	9	6	6	9	8	11	9	11	7	10	7	8	7




	Relegation to Nigeria National League

Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2022. Source: World Football

Statistics[]

Scoring[]

Top scorers[]

As of 20 March 2022

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1		Rivers United	11
2		Rivers United	9
3	Yusuf Abdulazeez	Gombe United	8
3	Andy Okpe	Remo Stars	8
5	Alao Danbani	Kwara United	7
5		Enugu Rangers	7
7		Sunshine Stars	6
7	Odoh Valentine	Abia Warriors	6
9	6 players		5

Hat-tricks[]


Player	For	Against	Score	Date
	Rivers United	Akwa United	4–1 (H)	20 March 2022^[7]

Notes

(H) – Home team

References[]

^ "NPFL 2021–22 season starts December 17". The Nation. 25 November 2021.
^ Oludare, Shina (12 September 2021). "3SC, Remo Stars, Niger Tornadoes and Gombe United promoted to NPFL". Goal. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
^ "LMC,Redstrike media seal NPFL.tv deal". Punchng.com. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
^ "NPFL:LMC slams 3.5 million naira fine, banish Dakkada FC to Benin". Daily Trust. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
^ "Onuh replaces Abdallah as Heartland coach". Dailypost.ng. 6 February 2022.
^ "NPFL:Kennedy Boboye quits Akwa United". Premiumtimesng.com. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
^ "NPFL Review:Akuneto scores hattrick as Rivers United finish midseason champions". 20 March 2022.

[4] Abia Warriors play their home matches at , Okigwe due to the poor state of their original stadium, .

[6] Dakkada played three home matches at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.^[4]

[7] Enugu Rangers currently play their home matches at in Nnewi as renovation works are being carried out at their regular stadium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

[8] Kano Pillars play their home matches at Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna instead of their stadium Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano as it does not meet LMC requirements. Kano Pillars will also temporarily play at Mohammed Dikko Stadium, Katsina.

[9] MFM play their home matches at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos as their stadium, Agege Stadium is undergoing renovation works. However, they played their first match at the Onikan Stadium.

[10] Niger Tornadoes are to temporarily play their home matches at Abuja as their original stadium, Minna Township Stadium is being renovated. Tornadoes also played their first three home games at the Kwara State Stadium, Ilorin.

[11] Sunshine Stars temporarily play their home matches at Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu-Ode as their regular stadium, Akure Township Stadium, Akure does not meet the LMC requirements.

[1] "NPFL 2021–22 season starts December 17". The Nation. 25 November 2021.

[2] Oludare, Shina (12 September 2021). "3SC, Remo Stars, Niger Tornadoes and Gombe United promoted to NPFL". Goal. Retrieved 25 November 2021.

[3] "LMC,Redstrike media seal NPFL.tv deal". Punchng.com. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2021.

[5] "NPFL:LMC slams 3.5 million naira fine, banish Dakkada FC to Benin". Daily Trust. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

[12] "Onuh replaces Abdallah as Heartland coach". Dailypost.ng. 6 February 2022.

[13] "NPFL:Kennedy Boboye quits Akwa United". Premiumtimesng.com. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.

[14] "NPFL Review:Akuneto scores hattrick as Rivers United finish midseason champions". 20 March 2022.

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