2020–21 NWFL Premiership
2020-21 season of top-flight Nigerian women's football / soccer league
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The 2020–21 NWFL Premiership was the 31st season of Nigeria women's top-flight association football league and the first since its renaming. The season began December 9, 2020.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 9 December 2020 – 11 May 2021 |
| Champions | Rivers Angels (7th title) |
| Relegated | |
| CAF Women's Champions League | Rivers Angels |
| Matches | 112 |
| Goals | 247 (2.21 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Gift Monday (10 goals) |
| Biggest home win | FC Robo 5–0 Royal Queens (3 March 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Royal Queens 1–3 Bayelsa Queens (24 March 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Rivers Angels 6–2 Delta Queens (16 December 2020) |
| Longest winning run | Bayelsa Queens & Rivers Angels (5 matches) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Rivers Angels (8 matches) |
| Longest winless run | Abia Angels (9 matches) |
| Longest losing run | Ibom Angels (7 matches) |
← 2019 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 11 May 2021. | |
This season saw 14 teams competing as the number of clubs were expanded from 12. Adamawa Queens, Ibom Angels and Heartland Queens failed to meet the deadline for club licensing and registration and where subsequently relegated to the NWFL Championship.[1] They were replaced by Dream Stars Ladies and Osun Babes who were initially relegated from the 2019 season. Pro-league champions Olori Babes, were promoted and renamed Royal Queens, Pelican Stars were also promoted from the Pro-league.
On 25 April 2021, Rivers Angels won the Super Six tournament, clinching their 7th title and qualifying for the maiden CAF Women's Champions League.[2] Subsequently, on 11 May, Ibom Angels and DreamStar Ladies were confirmed relegated, the later eliminated on goal difference.
Format
This season saw a return to the straight table format without the clubs divided into groups since the 2014 season. All 14 teams were to play each other home and away to decide the league champions.
On 5 April, the NWFL board and the 14 clubs participating in the league agreed that the top six clubs at the end of the first round would play in a "Super Six" series to determine the league champions, while the bottom four clubs at the end of the same period would battle for survival in a play-off, with the last two teams at the end of the series relegated. The decision was taken due to the inaugural CAF Women's Champions League due to begin in May, so as to enter the country's representatives.[3]
Clubs
| Team | Stadium | Town/City |
|---|---|---|
| Abia Angels | Umuahia Township Stadium | Port Harcourt |
| Bayelsa Queens | Samson Siasia Stadium | Yenagoa |
| Confluence Queens | Confluence Stadium | Lokoja |
| Delta Queens | Agbor Township Stadium | Agbor |
| Dream Stars Ladies | Agege Stadium | Lagos |
| Edo Queens | University of Benin Sports Complex Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium |
Benin City |
| Ibom Angels | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium | Uyo |
| Nasarawa Amazons F.C. | Lafia Township Stadium | Lafia |
| Osun Babes | Osogbo City Stadium | Osogbo |
| Pelican Stars | U. J. Esuene Stadium | Calabar |
| Rivers Angels | Sharks Stadium | Port Harcourt |
| Robo | Legacy Pitch | Lagos |
| Royal Queens | Warri Township Stadium | Warri |
| Sunshine Queens | Akure Township Stadium | Akure |
Regular season
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayelsa Queens | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 11 | +13 | 31 | Championship play-offs |
| 2 | Delta Queens | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 29 | |
| 3 | Rivers Angels | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 28 | |
| 4 | Edo Queens | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 23 | |
| 5 | Robo | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 13 | +10 | 22 | |
| 6 | Sunshine Queens | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 7 | +7 | 20 | |
| 7 | Confluence Queens | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 19 | |
| 8 | Osun Babes | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 17 | |
| 9 | Nasarawa Amazons | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 17 | |
| 10 | Royal Queens | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 20 | −9 | 13 | |
| 11 | Pelican Stars | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 22 | −12 | 12 | Relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Abia Angels | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 16 | −7 | 11 | |
| 13 | Ibom Angels | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 10 | |
| 14 | DreamStar Ladies | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 25 | −17 | 6 |
Playoffs
Championship playoffs
The top six teams at the end of the regular season engaged each other in a round-robin playoff between 19 and 25 April in order to decide the league champion and representative at the maiden CAF Women's Champions League. All matches were played at the Dipo Dina International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | RIV | DEL | FCR | SUN | BAY | EDO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivers Angels (C) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 | 11 | Qualified to the CAF CL | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | 4–0 | |
| 2 | Delta Queens | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | 0–0 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | ||
| 3 | Robo | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 8 | — | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | ||
| 4 | Sunshine Queens | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 7 | 0–4 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 2–1 | ||
| 5 | Bayelsa Queens | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | 0–4 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | ||
| 6 | Edo Queens | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 | — | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | 0–3 | — |
Relegation playoffs
The bottom four teams at the end of the regular season engaged each other in a round-robin playoff between 8 and 11 May to decide the last two clubs to be relegated. All matches were played at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Benin City.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PEL | ABI | DRE | IBO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelican Stars | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 5 | — | — | 4–2 | 0–0 | ||
| 2 | Abia Angels | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | — | ||
| 3 | DreamStar Ladies (R) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4[a] | Relegation to NWFL Championship | — | — | — | 2–2 | |
| 4 | Ibom Angels (R) | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | — | 0–1 | — | — |
- Ranked on goal difference: Abia Angels 0, DreamStar Ladies -1.
Statistical leaders
Top scorers
This does not include playoffs.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gift Monday |
Robo | 10 |
| 2 | Reuben Charity |
Bayelsa Queens | 8 |
| 3 | Elizabeth Zirike |
Edo Queens | 6 |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gift Monday |
Robo | Osun Babes | 3–1[4] | 16 December 2020 |
Individual awards
Monthly awards
| Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | References | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | ||
| December | Gift Monday[5] |
Robo | |||
| January | |||||
| February | Edwin Okon[6] |
Rivers Angels | Reuben Charity |
Bayelsa Queens | |