NPFL slides to 91st globally
Nigeria’s top flight football, the Nigeria Professional Football League, is facing renewed scrutiny after slipping to 91st place in the latest world league rankings released by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
The latest rating represents a significant drop of 15 places from its 76th position in 2024, with the Nigerian league earning 171.75 points a tally that now leaves it outside the world’s top 90 domestic competitions.
The fall in ranking reflects deeper concerns about the international competitiveness of Nigerian clubs. The global ranking system measures league strength based on club performances in continental and international tournaments, and inconsistent results by NPFL representatives in African competitions have weighed heavily on its standing.
At the same time, rival leagues across Africa have strengthened their global influence. Egypt’s top division extended its dominance as Africa’s strongest league for the sixth straight year, while Morocco and South Africa also consolidated their rising profiles. Algeria and Tunisia completed the continent’s top five, highlighting Nigeria’s growing gap behind Africa’s elite football nations.
Despite the drop, Nigeria still holds 12th position in Africa under the Confederation of African Football’s five year coefficient ranking, preserving two qualification slots in CAF interclub competitions.
Global Gap Widens
Worldwide, European leagues continue to set the pace, with the English Premier League maintaining its long-standing status as the world’s number one competition. Spain’s La Liga and Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A followed closely behind in the top three.
Their sustained dominance underscores the growing gulf between Nigeria’s domestic league and football’s global powerhouses.
The latest rankings have intensified calls for reforms aimed at reviving the NPFL’s fortunes. Analysts point to infrastructure limitations, inconsistent investment, and gaps in player development as key obstacles slowing the league’s progress.
Football analysts have stressed that Nigeria still possesses the potential to regain lost ground but warned that urgent structural improvements are necessary.
With other African leagues accelerating their growth, the NPFL’s latest global setback is increasingly seen not just as a ranking decline, but as a wake up call for Nigerian football authorities to reposition the domestic game for international relevance.
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