The 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League began July 24, 2019. The league was earlier scheduled to start in February, but due to logistic reasons and commencement of other competitions, it was postponed to March,[1] May[2] then later July.[3] Prior to the start of the league, a congress was held in Abuja on June 27, with representatives from Nigeria Football Federation.[4] Due to failure of some teams to pay their indemnities, the agreed date at the congress was shifted from July 17 to July 24.[5][6]
| Season | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Rivers Angels |
| Matches played | 48 |
| Goals scored | 103 (2.15 per match) |
← 2018 2020–21 → | |
At the end of the 2018 Nigeria Women Premier League, Pelican Stars and Sure Babes were relegated to the lower division while Dream Stars Ladies and Invincible Angels gained promotion to the League.[7] Bayelsa Queens returns as defending champions, while Kaduna Queens bought the slot of Jokodolu Babes to compete in the elite division.
At the end of the regular season, Confluence Queens, Bayelsa Queens, Rivers Angels and Adamawa Queens topped their group, thereby qualifying for the super 4 competition to determine the overall winner of the league, while Osun Babes, Dream Stars Ladies, Kaduna Queens and Invincible Angels proceed to relegation playoffs.[8][9]
Format edit
For the 2019 season, an abridged league format of four groups was adopted with four teams in each group. The top team in each of the four groups will play a super four mini-tournament at the end of the league to determine the overall winner of the league. The last placed team in each group will engage in a playoff to determine the two teams that will be relegated to the lower division.[10][11]
Major transfers edit
The league saw the arrival of two Gambian internationals, Penda Bah and Isatou Jallow joining Rivers Angels and Dream Stars Ladies (with Jallow later joining Angels) respectively.[12][13] Other major transfers included the arrival of 2018 second top scorer, Anjor Major to league winners, Bayelsa Queens.[14][15] Rofiat Sule, who was the top scorer during the 2016 and 2017 season also moved from Rivers Angels to Bayelsa Queens in a deal that is considered as the biggest in the history of Nigerian women club football.[16] In August 2019, former captain of Ghana women's national under-20 football team, Grace Adams signed a year deal with Rivers Angels from a team in the United States.[17]
Non-Nigerian players during 2019 season edit
| Player | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Grace Adams | Rivers Angels | Ghana |
| Zogo Mete | Heartland Queens | Cameroon |
| Penda Bah | Rivers Angels | Gambia |
| Carine Yoh | Sunshine Queens | Cameroon |
| Ajieh Vivian | Delta Queens | Ghana |
| Ossol Kevine | Abia Angels | Cameroon |
| Tantoh Melvis | Delta Queens | Cameroon |
| Bakendji Reine | Abia Angels | Cameroon |
| Patience Adjetey | Delta Queens | Ghana |
| Isatou Jallow | Rivers Angels | Gambia |
| Bilong Maxi | Abia Angels | Cameroon |
Finals table edit
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rivers Angels (Q) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 13 | Qualification to the Super 4 |
| 2 | FC Robo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 11 | |
| 3 | Delta Queens | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 | |
| 4 | Osun Babes (R) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 1 | Qualification to the Relegation play-offs |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Group B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adamawa Queens (Q) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 12 | Qualification to the Super 4 |
| 2 | Edo Queens | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 10 | |
| 3 | Heartland Queens | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 7 | |
| 4 | Dream Stars Ladies F.C. (R) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | Qualification to the Relegation play-offs |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Group C edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayelsa Queens (Q) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 | Qualification to the Super 4 |
| 2 | Sunshine Queens | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 11 | |
| 3 | Nasarawa Amazons | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Kaduna Queens[a] (R) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 4 | Qualification to the Relegation play-offs |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Kaduna Queens bought the slot of Jokodolu Babes
Group D edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confluence Queens (Q) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 11 | Qualification to the Super 4 |
| 2 | Abia Angels | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 10 | |
| 3 | Ibom Angels | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 | |
| 4 | Invincible Angels (R) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 4 | Qualification to the Relegation play-offs |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Play-off stages edit
Relegation play-offs edit
| Osun Babes | 1–1 | Kaduna Queens |
|---|---|---|
Iloduba  51' (pen.) |
Report | Anita |
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
| DreamStar FC Ladies | 1–1 | Invincible Angels |
|---|---|---|
| Nwaogu 21' |
Report | Bashiru 84' |
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
- Kaduna Queens and Invincible Angels were relegated to the Pro-league.
Super 4 edit
Semi-finals edit
| Adamawa Queens | 0–2 | Confluence Queens |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Usang 3', 26' |
- Confluence Queens and Rivers Angels qualified to the Final.
Third place match edit
Final edit
| 2019 Nigeria Women Premier League winners |
|---|
| Rivers Angels 6th title |
Nigeria Women Pro-league play-offs edit
Four teams qualified for the promotion playoffs; Olori Babes, Pelican Stars, Police Female Machine, Moje Queens. The four teams would play each other once in a round robin tournament, the two highest ranked teams shall be promoted to the 2020 Nigeria Women Premier League.
All matches were played at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olori Babes FC (P) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | Promotion to the 2020 Nigeria Women Premier League |
| 2 | Pelican Stars (P) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 6 | |
| 3 | Police Female Machine FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Moje Queens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(P) Promoted
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
References edit
- ^ Ahmadu, Samuel (2019-02-06). "Solomon Dalung solicits financial support for Nigeria Women Premier League commencement". Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "NWPL: AGM postponement hinders league resumption".
- ^ "2019/2020 Nigeria Women Premier League kicks off Today".
- ^ "Nigeria Women League to begin abridged 2018/2019 season July 17". Brila. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "Nigeria Women's Premier League 2019 season kicks off on July 17". Goal.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "NWPL postpones 2019 season's kick-off by one week". Guardian. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ Oba, Adeniji. "Dream Stars Ladies Pick Promotion to NWPL". Sports 247. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "Confluence Queens, Rivers Angels, Adamawa Queens and Bayelsa Queens book NWPL Super Four berth".
- ^ "Nigeria: NWPL Down to the Wire As Top Teams Battle for Super 4".
- ^ "2018/2019 NWPL Season set to Kick-Off". Brila.net. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "Nigeria Women's Premier League 2019 season kicks off on July 17".
- ^ "Female Scorpion's Isatou Jallow Joins Nigeria's Rivers Angels on Season Long Loan".
- ^ "Gambia's Penda Bah joins Nigerian side Dream Stars from Interior FC".
- ^ "5 promising players to look out for in the Nigeria Women Premier League".
- ^ "Five Young Players Ready to Shine in the 2018/2019 NWPL Season".
- ^ "Five new signings to watch out for in the 2018/2019 NWPL season". Sport Compass. Archived from the original on 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
- ^ "Nigerian champions Rivers Angels FC sign former Black Princesses captain Grace Adams". Football Ghana. August 16, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
External links edit
- Nigeria 2019 at RSSF