NWFL Premiership
Top-level women's soccer league in Nigeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| |
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Nigeria |
| Confederation | CAF |
| Number of clubs | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Nigerian Women Football League Championship |
| Domestic cup(s) | Nigerian Women's Cup Champions Shield |
| International cup | CAF W-Champions League |
| Current champions | Bayelsa Queens (6th title) (2024-25) |
| Most championships | Rivers Angels & Pelican Stars (7 titles) |
| Website | The NWFL |
| Current: 2025–26 NWFL Premiership | |
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]
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]
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 |
| Bayelsa Queens (Yenagoa) | 6 |
4 |
2004, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2021–22, 2024–25 | 2005, 2008, 2015, 2022–23 |
| Delta Queens FC (Asaba) | 6 |
2 |
2003, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2022–23 | 2017, 2020–21 |
| Ufuoma Babes (Warri) | 4 |
– |
1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 | – |
| Nasarawa Amazons (Nasarawa) | 2 |
6 |
2013, 2017 | 2006, 2007, 2016, 2018, 2021–22, 2024–25 |
| Jegede Babes (Lagos) | 1 |
1 |
1990 | 1995 |
| Mande River State (Port Harcourt) | 1 |
– |
1991 | – |
| Edo Queens (Benin City) | 1 |
– |
2023–24 | – |
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 | Anjor Mary | Bayelsa Queens | 6 |
| 2020–21 | Gift Monday | FC Robo | 10[a] |
| 2021–22 | Gift Monday | Bayelsa Queens | 10[b] |
| 2022–23 | Mercy Omokwu | Delta Queens | 9 |
| 2023–24 | Folashade Ijamilusi | Robo Queens | 8 |
| 2024–25 | Bolaji Olamide | Remo Stars Ladies | 15 |
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
- There was no Super tournament this season but Pelican Stars topped group A, while Rivers Angels topped group B in the regular season