The 2010–11 Nigeria Premier League was the 40th season of the competition since its inception, and the 21st since the rebranding of the league as the "Professional League". Enyimba International were the defending champions.
| Season | 2010–11 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dolphins |
| Relegated | Plateau United, Zamfara United, Crown F.C., JUTH F.C. |
| 2012 CAF Champions League | Dolphins Sunshine Stars |
| 2012 CAF Confederation Cup | Warri Wolves Heartland (cup winner) |
| Matches played | 380 |
| Goals scored | 786 (2.07 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jude Aneke - Kaduna United (20) |
| Biggest home win | Plateau United 7-0 vs Kwara United (23 Oct. 2011) |
| Biggest away win | Kwara United 2-0 at JUTH (11 Dec. 2010) Sharks F.C. 3-1 at Crown F.C. (2 November 2011) |
| Highest scoring | Enugu Rangers 5, Ocean Boys 2 (21 Nov. 2010) Sharks 4, Crown 3 (26 Feb. 2011) Plateau United 7-0 vs Kwara United (23 Oct. 2011) |
| Longest winning run | Dolphins - 5 games from 22 Dec. 2010 to 22 Jan. 2011 |
| Longest unbeaten run | 8 games: Bukola Babes (6 wins, 2 ties) from 22 Dec. to 16 Feb. |
| Longest winless run | 9 games: Plateau United (3 ties, 6 losses) from 23 Dec. to 20 Feb. |
| Longest losing run | Crown - 5 games from 22 Dec. to 23 Jan. |
| Highest attendance | 26,000: Enyimba at K. Pillars 11 Dec. 2010 |
← 2009–10 2012 → | |
The season was originally supposed to start 25 September, then was delayed to 2 October. However after a series of meetings and threatened lawsuits, the league announced that it would play with 24 teams, including the four teams relegated from the previous season. The tentative compromise plans included two divisions of 12 teams each with the top two making the season-ending Super Four, mirroring the league's format in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. This idea was canceled by the NPL on October 7 and the league returned to 20 teams for the season.
The season was delayed again to start the weekend of 23 October,[1] and delayed yet again to 6 November because of issues with the assignment of referees. Due to enforcement of minimum pitch standards, several teams have been made to play in different stadiums outside their home cities.
The second half of the season began 11 May after a six-week break, including two delays for national elections. The season was finished on 13 November 2011 after another six-week delay to allow for the Federation Cup and teams playing on the continent to concentrate on their fixtures.
Clubs
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League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dolphins (C) | 38 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 73 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Sunshine Stars | 38 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 71 | |
| 3 | Warri Wolves | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 66 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Kano Pillars | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 65 | Qualification for WAFU Club Championship |
| 5 | Sharks | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 63 | |
| 6 | Enugu Rangers | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 62 | |
| 7 | Enyimba | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 61 | |
| 8 | Kaduna United | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 56 | |
| 9 | Kwara United | 38 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 53 | |
| 10 | Lobi Stars | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 53 | |
| 11 | Heartland | 38 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 52 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 12 | Bukola Babes | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 51 | |
| 13 | Gombe United | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 50 | |
| 14 | Niger Tornadoes | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 50 | |
| 15 | Shooting Stars | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 47 | |
| 16 | Ocean Boys | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 47 | |
| 17 | Plateau United (R) | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 44 | Relegated to Nigeria National League |
| 18 | Zamfara United (R) | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 39 | |
| 19 | Crown (R) | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 37 | |
| 20 | JUTH F.C. (R) | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 51 | −25 | 32 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Personnel and kits
edit
News
edit- December 12- Ocean Boys defender Emmanuel Okoli collapsed 39 minutes into a game vs. Niger Tornadoes and died en route to the hospital.
- December 16- The league was named the "MTN Premier League" after the NFF secured sponsorship from the MTN Group.[4] However sponsorship was rescinded January 27 and the bidding was reopened.[5]
- January 8- In Abeokuta, Shooting Stars and Tornadoes played the first night game in Nigeria's top division in twenty-nine years.
- Due to unrest in the city of Jos, on January 13 JUTH announced they were moving home games to Kaduna and Plateau United were going to play in Enugu for one month.
Managerial (head coach) changes
edit| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warri Wolves | Lawrence Akpokona | fired | end of 2009-10 season |  Paul Aigbogun
|
2 September 2010 |
| Kwara United |  Justin Tenger
|
fired | end of 2009-10 season | Kadiri Ikhana
|
17 July 2010[6] |
| Sunshine Stars | Solomon Ogbeide | fired | Aug. 18 2010 | Gbenga Ogunbote
|
Aug. 18 2010[7] |
| Gombe United | Ben Duamlong | Resigned | Oct.8 2010 | Bernard Ogbe
|
Nov. 5 2010[8] |
| Heartland | Samson Siasia
|
resigned to take Super Eagles job | Dec. 1 2010 |  Lodewijk de Kruif
|
Feb. 7 2011 |
| Niger Tornadoes | Ladan Bosso
|
fired | Nov. 26 2010 | Samson Unuanel (interim)
|
Nov. 26 2010 |
| Crown F.C. | Ganiyu Salami | fired | Jan. 22 2011 | Oladunni Oyekale
|
Jan. 22 2011 |
| Kano Pillars F.C. | Salisu Yusuf | resigned to become Super Eagles assistant | Jan. 1 2011 | Ladan Bosso[9]
|
Jan. 23 2011 |
| Niger Tornadoes | Samson Unuanel
|
interim period ends | Feb. 6 2011 | Justin Tenger
|
Feb. 6 2011 |
| JUTH F.C. | Tunde Abdulrahman | fired | Feb. 17 2011 |  Emmanuel Deutsch
|
Feb. 28 2011 |
| Ocean Boys F.C. | Larry Eceli | fired | May 20, 2011 | Samson Unuanel
|
May 20, 2011 |
| Bukola Babes F.C. | Festus Allen | suspended/resigned | June 8, 2011 | Kabiru Sulaiman
|
June 8, 2011 |
References
edit- ^ NPL kicks off October 23 with record 24 clubs
- ^ "Bukola_Babes_pick_Bauchi_as_new_home". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ "Niger moves to avert Tornadoes' relocation". Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ MTN win NPL sponsorship rights
- ^ "MTN no longer league sponsor". Archived from the original on 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- ^ Kwara United To Unveil Ikhana As New Coach
- ^ "Sunshine sacks Ogbeide (Tribune)". Archived from the original on 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2010-08-22.
- ^ "Bernard Ogbe joins Gombe United". Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
- ^ "Bosso joins Pillars in Benin". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ Ocean Boys sack Eceli
- ^ Bukola suspend coach Allen