2015 Nigeria Professional Football League

The 2015 Nigeria Professional Football League (referred to as the Nigerian Glo premier league for sponsorship reasons) is the 44th season of the Nigeria Premier League, the top Nigerian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1972, and the 25th since the rebranding of the league as the "Professional League".

Nigeria Premier League
Season2015
ChampionsEnyimba
RelegatedBayelsa United
Kwara United
Sharks
Taraba
Champions LeagueEnyimba
Warri Wolves
Confederation CupAkwa United
Nasarawa United
Matches played380
Goals scored816 (2.15 per match)
Top goalscorerGbolahan Salami[1] of Warri Wolves (17 goals)
Biggest home win
2 matches
Biggest away win
2 matches
Highest scoringHeartland 5-2 Nasarawa United
(22 March 2015)
Longest winning runEnugu Rangers
Warri Wolves (4)
Longest unbeaten runEnyimba (10)
Longest winless runTaraba (17)
Longest losing runSunshine Stars
Taraba (4)
← 2014
2016 →
All statistics correct as of 16 November 2015.

Enyimba won their seventh league title and first since the 2009–10 season. They clinched with a week to go in the season with a scoreless draw with Warri Wolves, who were six points behind. Warri Wolves finished in second place, four points behind Enyimba, and both will represent Nigeria in the 2016 CAF Champions League. Nasarawa United placed third and qualified for the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup.

Bayelsa United, Kwara United, Sharks and Taraba each finished in the bottom four and will be relegated to the Nigeria National League for 2016. Akwa United escaped relegation, pulling out of the bottom four with a 1-0 win over Lobi Stars in their final match of the season.

Clubs

A total of 20 teams will contest the league including 16 teams from the previous season and four teams promoted from the Nigeria National League. The four promoted teams replace Gombe United, Crown, Kaduna United and Nembe City who were all relegated to the National League at the end of the previous season

Locations of the Nigeria Premier League 2015 teams

Teams

Stadiums and locations
Akwa United Bayelsa United F.C. Dolphin F.C. Wikki Tourists Heartland Gabros
Akwa Ibom Stadium Oghara Township Stadium Liberation Stadium Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium Dan Anyiam Stadium Gabros Stadium
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 5,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 3,000
Lobi Stars Nasarawa United Kwara United F.C. Sunshine Stars F.C.
Aper Aku Stadium Lafia Township Stadium Kwara Stadium Akure Township Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 5,000 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 10,000
El-Kanemi Warriors Enugu Rangers Enyimba Kano Pillars
Karkanda Stadium Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enyimba International Stadium Sani Abacha Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 25,500 Capacity: 25,000
Sharks Warri Wolves Abia Warriors F.C. Giwa FC Shooting Stars F.C. Taraba F.C.
Sharks Stadium Warri Township Stadium Umuahia Township Stadium Rwang Pam Stadium Lekan Salami Stadium Jalingo City Stadium
Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 5,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 30,000

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Enyimba (C, Q) 38 19 13 6 48 27 +21 70 Qualification for 2016 CAF Champions League
2 Warri Wolves (Q) 38 19 9 10 62 29 +33 66
3 Nasarawa United (Q) 38 18 9 11 46 35 +11 63 Qualification for 2016 CAF Confederation Cup
4 Wikki Tourists 38 18 9 11 45 36 +9 63
5 Giwa 38 17 12 9 44 41 +3 63
6 Sunshine Stars 38 18 7 13 58 38 +20 61
7 Heartland 38 17 5 16 46 40 +6 56
8 Kano Pillars 38 16 7 15 45 39 +6 55
9 Shooting Stars 38 15 8 15 39 39 0 53
10 Abia Warriors 38 16 5 17 39 43 −4 53
11 Gabros International 38 14 8 16 37 40 −3 50
12 Enugu Rangers 38 13 10 15 46 51 −5 49
13 El-Kanemi Warriors 38 14 7 17 38 56 −18 49
14 Lobi Stars 38 11 14 13 34 39 −5 47
15 Akwa United (Q) 38 13 8 17 33 43 −10 47 Qualification for 2016 CAF Confederation Cup
16 Dolphins 38 11 12 15 38 40 −2 45
17 Sharks (R) 38 11 12 15 28 39 −11 45 Relegation to Nigeria National League
18 Kwara United (R) 38 12 6 20 32 46 −14 42
19 Taraba (R) 38 9 10 19 30 47 −17 37
20 Bayelsa United (R) 38 7 13 18 28 48 −20 34
Updated to match(es) played on 16 November 2015. 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

Five Kano Pillars players were injured during an armed robbery as the club was heading south for their opener against Heartland FC.[2] Their opening game was postponed indefinitely.

In June, the league forced several clubs to find new venues for Matchdays 12 and 13 while they make mandatory upgrades to their home grounds.[3]

In August, Kano Pillars' 12-year undefeated streak at home came to an end in a 2-1 loss to Nasarawa United.[4]

References
  1. "Welcome to ABZ (Arthur Bueze's) SportsBlog: Gbolahan Salami wins first edition of Rashidi Yekini's NPFL Golden Boot Award, see other list of winners". Archived from the original on 2016-12-23. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  2. "Gunmen wound Kano Pillars players". BBC Sport.
  3. "Seven clubs settle for new homes, LMC awaits Giwa, Nasarawa". www.npfl.ng. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. Premier League side's unbeaten record ends
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