BEVERLY HILLS, January 17, (THEWILL) – The second tier of domestic football in Nigeria, the Nigeria National League (NNL), will kick-off for the 2020/2021 Season on Saturday, 30th January, 2021. That will be just over a month after the top flight level, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), got underway on Sunday, December 27.
The commencement of the new season was based on decisions reached and draws carried out at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the league management, which held in the Ebonyi State capital, Abakaliki, on Friday.
At the meeting, presided over by the Chairman of the NNL and member of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Senator Obinna Joseph Ogba and his board, the draws for the groupings and fixtures were made in the presence of representatives of all 46 teams involved in the league.
The Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, who was unavoidably absent due to conflicting engagements was represented by Dr Ayo Abdulrahaman, who is the Head of the AITEO Cup competition, at the occasion.
In the aftermath of the colourful occasion of the AGM, the representatives of the teams got to know their conference standings and an idea of what the clashes ahead of the start of the League will have in store for them and those in other conferences.
The groupings based on Northern and Southern Conferences were as follows:
Northern Conference (A1): El-Kanemi Warriors, EFCC FC, NAF FC, Oyah Sports FC, Rarara FC, Sokoto United FC, Aklosendi FC, Gombe United FC, Green Berets FC, Mighty Jets FC, FC Taraba
Northern Conference (A2): Niger Tornadoes FC, Road Safety FC, DMD FC, Malumfashi FC, Kebbi United FC, Yobe Desert Stars, Zamfara United FC, Kogi United FC, ABS FC, Real Stars FC
Southern Conference (B1): Go Round FC, Stores FC, 3SC, Dynamite FC, Delta Force FC, Nilayo FC, Nnewi United FC, Vandrezzer FC, Ekiti United FC, rovers FC, Giant Brillars FC, Akajobi FC
Southern Conference (B2): Bendel Insurance, Joy Cometh FC, Crown FC, J. Atete FC, Apex Krane FC, Remo Stars FC, Ibom Youth FC, FC One Rocket, Godosky FC, Bayelsa United FC, Abia Comets FC, Jossy FC, Gateway FC
For these groupings, the format has changed often to reflect the number of teams required to have an equal set of teams in all four conferences. The 2006 format had four divisions of nine teams each, with division winners receiving automatic promotion. In 2012-13, it went back to two divisions of sixteen. For the 2015 season, it used four divisions of eight teams.
In the draws for the 2020/2021, as is obvious from the groupings, the format of four conferences remained while the number of teams has increased to nine.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
