The 2019–2020

Nigeria Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

was the 49th season of the top-flight division of the

Nigerian football league system The Nigerian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for association football clubs in Nigeria. It is made up of the top-most league, the Nigeria Premier League, then the Nigeria National League which is divided into two groups ...

and the 30th season since its rebranding as the 'Professional League'. The league started on 3 November 2019 but was cancelled in July due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

with no champions and no teams relegated.

Enyimba Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and ...

were the defending champions, after winning the Super 6 play-offs the previous season The league was initially halted on 18 March 2020 following a decision by the League Management Company to suspend the league due to the

with no decision made on the league's resumption. On 10 July 2020 however, the league was cancelled by the NFF for the second time in three seasons (after the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

season ended in a similar way), following an online meeting between its executive committee and the league board with no champions and no relegation or promotion from the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, and stopped at Matchday 25. As a result of this, the league's representatives at the continental competitions next season were decided by the PPG system, which created confusion and disagreement among the teams as

Rivers United Rivers United Football Club is a professional football club based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State that participates in the Nigerian Professional Football League, the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. The club was formed by the merger ...

refused to accept their

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and organi ...

spot initially given to them. Based on the points per game system,

Plateau United Plateau United Football Club of Jos (usually known as Plateau United) is a Nigerian professional football (soccer) club based in Jos, that competes in the Nigerian Professional Football League. Before 1991, they were known as the JIB Strikers FC ...

and

will represent the country at the

2020–21 CAF Champions League The 2020–21 CAF Champions League (officially the 2020–21 Total CAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 57th edition of Africa's premier club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and the 25th ...

while

will participate at the

, since the 2020 Federation Cup was cancelled,

Kano Pillars Kano Pillars Football Club is a Nigerian professional football club based in Kano, North Western part of Nigeria. They play in the lower division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is Sani Abacha Stadium. Kano ...

, the 2019 Federation Cup champions, will take the second

spot.

Teams

The league consisted of 20 teams, the 4 promoted teams from the

Nigeria National League The Nigerian National League (formerly known as ''National Division 1'') is the second tier of club football in Nigeria. History From 1997-2011, the league has been split into 1A for Northern teams and 1B for southern teams. The top two f ...

and the remaining 16 teams from the previous season. On 28 November,

Kwara United Kwara United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Ilorin. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional football League after promotion in 2017 from the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is t ...

bought Delta Force's slot and replaced them in the league. :''Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.''

Locations

League table

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

Most assists

Clean sheets

News

*This was the 30th Anniversary of the

Nigerian Professional Football League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

since attaining

professionalism A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

in 1990. * On 29 November 2019, Ifeanyi Ubah's bus was attacked by armed robbers near

Lokoja Lokoja is a city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Yoruba (Oworo), Bassa Nge and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups of Nigeria, including the ...

, Kogi State's capital during a trip to Kano for their match against Jigawa Golden Stars which left players and members of the coaching crew "critically injured" according to the club. *Katsina United and Kano Pillars were fined N3.5 million($9) and N1.5 million($3.8) by the League Management Company on 25 January 2020 for their fans misconduct during their fixture 10 days earlier in Katsina. *In a similar incident, the 16 January 2020 fixture between Abia Warriors and Enyimba was postponed to Monday, 17 January 2020 and played without spectators after the match was disrupted and couldn't be completed on the initial date. Abia Warriors were later fined by the

League Management Company The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...

for fan violence. *Nasarawa United's defender

Chineme Martins Chineme Martins was a Nigerian footballer who played as a midfielder for Nasarawa United. During a league game against Katsina United Katsina United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in the town of Katsina, Katsina State. History ...

collapsed at the Lafia Township Stadium during a home league match versus Katsina United on 8 March 2020. He was attended to by medics and later rushed to an hospital where he was later confirmed dead. The

Nigeria Football Federation The Nigeria Football Federation (known as Nigeria Football Association until 2008) is Nigeria's football governing body. It was formally launched in 1945 and formed the first Nigerian national football team in 1949. It joined CAF in 1959 and FIF ...

ordered all NPFL clubs to provide all necessary medical equipment and personnel before hosting any other game. Owing to the poor first aid assistance at the stadium. All players wore black armbands and a

minute's silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of r ...

held before the commencement of all Matchday 24 games as tribute. A round of applause was held for him at the 20th minute of each game. *Enugu Rangers duo Ifeanyi George and Emmanuel Ogbu were involved in an auto crash which claimed their lives and the life of a third person. The accident occurred in Abudu at the Benin-Agbor road while the players were travelling to Lagos after the season was suspended due to the

References

External links

Nigeria 2020
RSSSF.com {{DEFAULTSORT:2019-20 Nigeria Professional Football League Nigeria Professional Football League seasons 2019–20 in Nigerian football

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...