2016 Nigeria Women Premier League
The 2016 Nigeria Women Premier League was scheduled to start in February 2016, but was moved to 21 May, 2016.[1][2] A total of 18 teams were registered for the season. The teams are divided into two groups of nine each. The winner of each abridged league will meet at the end of the season to determine the overall winner of the league. The Nigeria Women Premier League is one of the league competitions administered by the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) board.
| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Rivers Angels F.C. |
| Top goalscorer | Rafiat Sule (9 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Delta Queens F.C. 6 vs 0 Martin White Doves F.C. (11 June 2016) |
| Biggest away win | 3 matches
|
| Highest scoring | Osun Babes 4 vs 3 Abia Angels (4 June 2016) |
← 2015 2017 →
All statistics correct as of 5 October 2016. | |
Rivers Angels F.C. came to the season as defending champions after winning the super six tournament in Abia State in the previous season.[3] On 30 October 2016, Nasarawa Amazons F.C. and Rivers Angels F.C. were confirmed winners of group A and B respectively.[4] Rafiat Sule and Paulinus Ifeoma of Bayelsa Queens F.C. and COD United Ladies F.C. respectively led the scorer's chart with nine goals, with the former edging Ifeoma with superior assist record (5). This is the second consecutive year of Sule being top scorer as she was also the goal king in 2015 season.
On 10 August 2016, Tokas Queens and Capital City Doves were expunged from the league for failure to honour three consecutive matches.[5] The number of expelled team was increased to seven a few weeks later after Nasarawa Amazons, Martin White Doves, F.C Robo, Confluence Queens and Adamawa Queens were also evicted for similar reasons. The NWFL board explained that their commitment to improving professionalism in female football in Nigeria was reason for the strict adherence to the prior rules of the competition.[3] The economic recession in Nigeria has been highlighted as the reason for failure of teams to meet the financial demands of games.[6] The clubs were later reinstated to the league after the League Management Company gave ten million naira to alleviate the running of the league.[7][8]
On 21 January 2017, at the Abuja National Stadium, Rivers Angels defeated Nasarawa Amazons on penalties after playing goalless. This is the second trophy won by the club after winning the 2016 Nigeria Women's Cup.[9]
Format
Eighteen teams in two groups of nine each competed for the league title. Each team plays with every team in her respective group. Unlike 2015 season, where the top 3 teams from each group contested in a super 6 mini-tournament in Abia State to determine the overall winner, this season title decider involves only the winner of group A and group B. This two seasons are in contrast with the 2014 season where a complete round robin system was used. Rivers Angels and Nasarawa Amazons are to contest in a winners final to determine the overall winner of the league.[4]
Clubs
| Team | Stadium | State |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers Angels F.C. | Yakubu Gowon Stadium | Rivers State |
| Delta Queens F.C. | Delta State | |
| Pelican Stars F.C. | U. J. Esuene Stadium | Cross River State |
| Sunshine Queens F.C. | Akure Township Stadium[10] | Ondo State |
| Osun Babes F.C. | Oshogbo Stadium | Osun State |
| Bayelsa Queens F.C. | Ughelli Township Stadium | Bayelsa State |
| Tokas Queens F.C. | Lagos State | |
| Abia Angels F.C. | Umuahia Township Stadium | Abia State |
| Nasarawa Amazons F.C. | Aper Aku Stadium | Nasarawa State |
| COD United Ladies F.C. | Lagos State | |
| F.C. Robo Queens | Legacy Pitch, Surulere | Lagos State |
| Confluence Queens F.C. | Confluence Stadium | Kogi State |
| Martins White Doves F.C. | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium[11] | Edo State |
| Adamawa Queens F.C. | Adamawa State | |
| Taraba Queens F.C. | Taraba State | |
| Edo Queens F.C. | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium | Edo State |
| Ibom Angels F.C. | Akwa-Ibom Stadium | Akwa Ibom State |
| Capital City Doves F.C. | Abuja | |
League standings
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nasarawa Amazons F.C. | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 8 | +21 | 36 |
| 2 | Bayelsa Queens F.C. | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 11 | +19 | 31 |
| 3 | Ibom Angels F.C. | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 31 |
| 4 | COD United Ladies F.C. | 16 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 15 | +7 | 29 |
| 5 | Osun Babes F.C. | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 23 |
| 6 | Edo Queens F.C. | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 20 |
| 7 | Abia Angels F.C. | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 16 |
| 8 | Pelican Stars F.C. | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 12 |
| 9 | Tokas Queens F.C. | 15 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 30 | −26 | 3 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivers Angels F.C. | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 7 | +19 | 30 |
| 2 | Delta Queens F.C. | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 30 |
| 3 | Sunshine Queens F.C. | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 10 | +13 | 27 |
| 4 | Confluence Queens F.C. | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 23 |
| 5 | Adamawa Queens F.C. | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 15 |
| 6 | F.C. Robo Queens | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 29 | −16 | 12 |
| 7 | Taraba Queens F.C. | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 21 | −12 | 10 |
| 8 | Capital City Doves F.C. | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 27 | −21 | 6 |
| 9 | Martin White Doves F.C. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Awards
Player of the month
The NWPL player of the month is sponsored by futbalgalore.com.[12]
- May: Seun Fakunle (Delta Queens) [13][14]
- June: Patience Kalu (Bayelsa Queens) [15]
- July: Glory Iroka (Rivers Angels)
- August: Esther Anthony (Osun Babes)
- September: Paulinus Ifeoma (COD United Ladies F.C.)
Statistics
Scorers chart
- As of December 2016
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rofiat Sule |
Bayelsa Queens | 9 |
| Ifeoma Paulinus |
COD United | 9 | |
| 3 | Patience Kalu |
Bayelsa Queens | 6 |
| 4 | Anthony Esther |
Osun Babes | 5 |
| Amarachi Ojinma |
Rivers Angels | 5 | |
| Ibinabo Georgewill |
5 | ||
| Imo Anam |
Nasarawa Amazons F.C. | 5 | |
| Joy Jegede |
Delta Queens | 5 | |
References
- "2015/2016 Season: Women Premier League To Begin On Feb. 20". leadership.ng. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- "Nigeria Women Premier League to commence on May 21". goal.com. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- "NWFL axes FC Robo, two others". supersport.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- "NWFL: Rivers Angels qualifies for League Final". news24.com.ng. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- "NWFL throws 3 clubs out of league competitions". authorityngr.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- "Nasarawa Amazons seek reinstatement on NWFL". authorityngr.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- "Dikko explains why LMC donated N10m to NWFL". dailypost.ng. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- "LMC Supports Women's League with N10m". thisdaylive.com. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- Eludini, Tunde (21 January 2017). "Nigeria Women Premier League: Rivers Angels emerge champions". Premium Times. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
- "ROUND-UP OF NWPL WEEK 1 MATCH RESULTS, GOAL SCORERS AND NEXT FIXTURES". Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- "NWFL: How well do you know your favourite team?". ladiesmarch.com. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- "Igbinovia, Five Others Get Player Of The Month Award Nomination Published: May 31, 2016". allnigeriasoccer.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Fakunle Receives Her Player Of The Month Award". allnigeriasoccer.com. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- "Fakunle crowned as NWPL player of the month | :: Futbal Galore ::". www.futbalgalore.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-13.
- "Kalu named June Player of the Month | :: Futbal Galore ::". www.futbalgalore.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-13.