2013 Nigeria Premier League

The 2013 Nigeria Professional Football League will be the 42nd season of the competition since its inception, and the 23rd since the rebranding of the league as the "Professional League". Due to start in December, numerous delays and challenges to the board pushed the opening weekend back to February, and then pushed to March 9. There was a season-opening Super Four tournament won by Heartland F.C. between the four clubs involved in Continental competitions in order to get them ready for their international assignments.[1]

Nigeria Premier League
Season2013
ChampionsKano Pillars
Champions LeaguePillars, Enyimba
Confederation CupBayelsa United
Matches played380
Goals scored764 (2.01 per match)
Top goalscorerVictor Namo Nasarawa United F.C., 18
Biggest home winEnugu Rangers 4 Pillars 0, 28 April
Heartland 4 Gombe 0, 31 March
Biggest away winShooting Stars 0 Heartland 2, 15 May
Highest scoringLobi Stars 3 Bayelsa United 4, 7 July
← 2012
2014 →

Clubs

Sixteen teams from the previous season and four teams promoted from the Nigeria National League (Bayelsa United, El-Kanemi Warriors, Nasarawa United and Nembe City F.C.) participated in this season.

Locations of the Nigeria Premier League 2012–13 teams
Team name Home city Home venue First year of current stint in League
ABS FC Ilorin Kwara State Stadium 2011
Akwa United Uyo Uyo Township Stadium/Rojenny Stadium, Oba 2011
Bayelsa United F.C. Yenegoa Samson Siasia Stadium 2012
Dolphins Port Harcourt Liberation Stadium 2009
El-Kanemi Warriors Maiduguri El-Kanemi Stadium 2012
Enugu Rangers Enugu Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium 1973
Enyimba Aba Enyimba International Stadium 1994
Gombe United Gombe Pantami Stadium 1994
Heartland Owerri Dan Anyiam Stadium 1975
Kaduna United Kaduna Kaduna Township Stadium 2008
Kano Pillars Kano Sani Abacha Stadium 2001
Kwara United Ilorin Kwara State Stadium 2009
Lobi Stars Makurdi Emmanuel Atongo Stadium, Katsina-Ala/Aper Aku Stadium 1999
Nasarawa United Lafia Lafia Township Stadium 2012
Nembe City F.C. Nembe Samson Siasia Stadium 2012
Sharks Port Harcourt Sharks Stadium 2008
Shooting Stars Ibadan Awolowo Stadium 2009
Sunshine Stars Akure Akure Township Stadium 2007
Warri Wolves Warri Warri Township Stadium 2008
Wikki Tourists Bauchi Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium 2011

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Kano Pillars (C) 38 20 3 15 46 40 +6 63 Qualification for 2014 CAF Champions League
2 Enyimba (Q) 38 18 8 12 32 19 +13 62
3 Bayelsa United (Q) 38 19 4 15 42 39 +3 61 Qualification for 2014 CAF Confederation Cup
4 El-Kanemi Warriors 38 18 6 14 43 33 +10 60
5 Enugu Rangers 38 18 4 16 47 37 +10 58
6 Gombe United 38 18 1 19 38 46 −8 55
7 Warri Wolves (Q) 38 15 10 13 42 33 +9 55 Qualification for 2014 CAF Confederation Cup
8 Sharks 38 15 8 15 35 32 +3 53
9 Dolphins 38 15 8 15 32 34 −2 53
10 Kaduna United 38 17 2 19 37 45 −8 53
11 Heartland 38 16 4 18 39 32 +7 52
12 Sunshine Stars 38 15 7 16 39 35 +4 52
13 Nasarawa United 38 15 7 16 37 42 −5 52
14 Lobi Stars 38 15 7 16 35 40 −5 52
15 Nembe City 38 16 4 18 31 47 −16 52
16 Akwa United 38 14 9 15 41 46 −5 51
17 Kwara United (R) 38 13 11 14 32 32 0 50 Relegated to Nigeria National League
18 ABS (R) 38 14 8 16 35 43 −8 50
19 Wikki Tourists (R) 38 15 4 19 40 43 −3 49
20 Shooting Stars (R) 38 13 7 18 41 46 −5 46
Updated to match(es) played on 20 October 2013. Source: Nigeria Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated

News

Akwa United were banished to Rojenny Stadium in Anambra State for the rest of the season after a Week 18 incident against Warri Wolves where fans invaded the pitch and attacked officials.[2]

A September game between Kano Pillars and Enyimba was abandoned in the final minutes because of crowd trouble. Pillars will play the rest of the season in Kaduna. After the league originally awarded the forfeit to Enyimba, the NFF ruled the game to be replayed 9 October in Lokoja.[3]

Managerial (head coach) changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of appointment
Sharks F.C. Augustine Eguavoen Resigned 24 March 2013 Gbenga Ogunbote 30 March 2013[4]
Sunshine Stars F.C. Samuel Abimbola Fired 29 May 2013 [5] Fatai Amoo 3 June 2013
Lobi Stars F.C. Dominic Iorfa Interim Evans Ogenyi 10 July 2013
Nasarawa United F.C. Alphonsus Dke Fired 22 August 2013 Kadiri Ikhana[6] 22 August 2013

References
  1. Kano promises to host a good Super Four tournament(Goal.com)
  2. "Akwa slammed for abandoned match". Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  3. http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4111/nigeria-premier-league/2013/10/04/4309612/nffs-appeals-committee-orders-kano-pillars-enyimba-replay?ICID=CP_2560
  4. "Ogunbote takes over troubled Sharks". Archived from the original on 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  5. "Sunshine sack coach Abimbola". Archived from the original on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  6. "Nasarawa: Ikhana can do magic". Archived from the original on 2013-08-24. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
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