Nigerian Premier League

Nigerian Premier League
Countries	Nigeria
Confederation	CAF
Founded	1972
Number of teams	20
Relegation to	Nigeria National League
Level on pyramid	Level 1
Domestic cup(s)	Nigerian FA Cup
International cup(s)	Champions League; Confederation Cup
Current champions	Bayelsa United F.C. (2008–09)
Most championships	Enugu Rangers (6)
Website	http://nigeriapremierleague.com

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The Globacom Premier League is the official name of Nigerian Premier League, the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. It is fed into by the two First Division groups: the Nigerian Division 1-A and Nigerian Division 1-B. It is organised by the Nigeria Football Association. The NFL Chairman is Oyuiki Obaseki. Bayelsa United F.C. are the current champions.

[edit] History

The league was founded in 1972 with six teams. The league was rechristened the "Professional League" in 1990 with a goal to modernize the game and make clubs self-sufficient. Decrees 10 and 11 which codified the introduction of professional football in Nigeria stipulated that professional clubs should be run as limited liability companies each governed by a regularly-constituted board of directors and required to hold annual general meetings, present independently audited accounts, cultivate youth/feeder teams and own their own stadia within five years of registration with the Pro League Department. To assist Pro League clubs in the timely achievement of these stated goals, all 56 professional clubsides that constituted the inaugural Pro League First and Second Divisions were granted a five-year tax moratorium on all income starting from 1990.

As of the 2002 season the league became known as the Globacom Premier League, due to sponsorship from the Globacom telecomunications company. ^[1] From 1999-2007, there was an end of season Championship mini-league called the "Super Four". The top four teams would play a round robin at a neutral site to determine the league champion.

After the 2006 competition, the league changed its calendar to more closely match the common European regular season structure (starting around August and ending around May).