Sports
Lmc Declares 2017/18 Npfl Season Concluded
Nigeria’s League Management Company (LMC) has declared the 2017/18 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season concluded at match-day 24.
This is after an emergency joint consultative meeting of the LMC, the 20 NPFL participating clubs and members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Executive Committee resolved amongst many other far-reaching decisions to declare Lobi Stars as the country’s representative in next season’s CAF Champions League.
According to an LMC statement, the meeting was called against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country, which resulted in the indefinite suspension of the resumption of the (NPFL) leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions. The second of the six point resolution of the meeting was that none of the 20 NPFL clubs shall be relegated to the lower league.The meeting also agreed that four clubs shall be promoted from the Nigeria National League(NNL) to bring the number of the NPFL clubs for the 2018/19 season to 24.
“It was also resolved that the 2018/19 PFL season will commence in November 2018 with a total of 24 participating teams which shall be divided into two groups of 12 teams each. The 2018/2019 season commencing November 2018 will be played on 22 match days ending with a playoff to determine the winner by May 2019. Also resolved at the meeting was that three teams from each group (a total of six) will be relegated from the NPFL after the conclusion of the 2018/2019 season, while two teams will be promoted to the NPFL from the NNL 2019 season. This will allow the NPFL to revert to the normal structure of 20 teams as from the 2019/2020 season.”
“To achieve harmony in the overall national football calendar, the NFF endorsed the 2019 AITEO CUP to commence from September 2018 and to end on October 14, 2018. The NPFL teams would be seeded for the cup competition and the winner to represent Nigeria in the 2019 CAF Confederation Cup starting November 2019.
The decisions according to the communique signed by Shehu Dikko, the Chairman of LMC and NFF 2nd Vice President were reached to address “the situation which has made it practically impossible to meet up with the deadline for the submission of the list of the country’s representatives to CAF Inter-Club Competitions and also the need to commence the 2019 season in earnest to meet with the CAF new calendar that runs from August to May of the following year.”
“It became imperative for us to put into consideration the health of the NPFL players who would have to go through the rigours of tortuous travels, hectic games schedule and of course the club finances which has been thrown off balance by the unforeseen circumstances imposed by the crisis in football administration that led to the situation”, the LMC Chairman further clarified.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
