The Nigeria Premier Football League has fallen to 91st place in the latest International Federation of Football History and Statistics global league rankings, which marks a significant drop from its 76th position in 2024.
According to the IFFHS strongest leagues of the world ranking for 2025, the NPFL amassed a total of 171.75 points, placing it outside the top 90 leagues globally and highlighting a decline in Nigeria’s overall league performance when measured against domestic competitions across all confederations.
The ranking combines continental and global results, giving weighted consideration to club performances beyond regional competitions.
Africa continues to be led by Egypt’s Premier League, which retained its position as the continent’s strongest league for a sixth consecutive year, extending a record streak.
Morocco’s Botola followed in second place, maintaining its presence on the African podium since 2018, while South Africa’s Premiership returned to the top three for the first time in 21 years. Algeria and Tunisia completed the continent’s top five.
In comparison to the official CAF five-year ranking system, Nigeria also occupies 12th in Africa with 21 points, a position that still qualifies the country to field two teams in each CAF club competition.
Egypt, Morocco and South Africa occupy the top three African positions under both the CAF and IFFHS assessments.
Globally, European leagues continued to dominate the upper reaches of the rankings, accounting for 12 of the top 20 leagues and 29 of the top 50.
South America followed with five leagues in the top 20, while Africa had only one representative in that bracket. Asia contributed two, with CONCACAF and Oceania trailing further behind.
The English Premier League was named the strongest league in the world for the sixth time since the IFFHS rankings were introduced in 1991. Spain’s La Liga held on to second place ahead of Brazil’s Serie A, while Italy’s Serie A dropped three positions but stayed above Germany’s Bundesliga.
France’s Ligue 1 climbed back into sixth place, with Portugal’s Primeira Liga retaining seventh. Argentina’s Liga Profesional slipped two places but remained ahead of the Dutch Eredivisie, while Colombia’s Primera A rose to complete the global top ten.
For Nigeria, the slide to 91st underscores growing concerns over the competitiveness and international impact of the domestic league, particularly as other African competitions continue to consolidate their standing both on the continent and worldwide.
Credit: punchng.com
