The 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season ends on Thursday with many high points to look forward to, even without the competition’s title at stake.
The season began on Dec. 27, and it has trudged on since in spite of issues of the absence of title sponsors as well as the accumulation of match indemnities and other entitlements to match officials.
All these will now come to an end (at least for this season) with Match Day 38 fixtures at 10 venues on Thursday.
Akwa United Football Club of Uyo have won the title since Match Day 37 on Sunday, after whipping MFM FC of Lagos 5-2 to move to 71 points for an unassailable nine-point lead.
But much is still at stake, with qualification tickets for the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League and 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup on the line, as well as relegation to the lower league.
The position of second-placed Nasarawa United of Lafia is under threat and they may miss the chance to join Akwa United in qualifying for the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League.
A win will however take them far away from the chasing pack of third-placed Kano Pillars, fourth-placed Rivers United, fifth-placed Enyimba International and sixth-placed Kwara United.
But each of all the five clubs have a chance, provided they win and their nearest rivals lose, with one CAF Champions League ticket and one Confederation Cup ticket at stake.
With all five of them playing away, the situation is unpredictable and only those who can grab away wins will pick the tickets to play on the continent.
FC IfeanyiUbah and Adamawa United are already relegated, but the other two to join them can be any two of Warri Wolves, Sunshine Stars, Wikki Tourists and Jigawa Golden Stars.
Warri Wolves need more than a win to escape the drop, while Sunshine Stars and Wikki Tourists need to just win to scale through.
But that will be if Jigawa Golden Stars do not draw or win at MFM FC.
Two clubs are to join the duo of Adamawa United and FC IfeanyiUbah in dropping to the Nigeria National League (NNL) for the 2021/2022 season.
On the other hand, the second-placed team will join winners Akwa United in playing in the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League, while the third-placed team will play in the 2021/2022 CAF Confederation Cup.
CURRENT STANDINGS
Pos TEAM P W D L GD Pts
1. Akwa United 37 19 14 4 +30 71
2. Nasarawa United 37 20 5 12 +19 65
3. Kano Pillars 37 19 7 11 +10 64
4. Rivers Utd 37 18 9 10 +13 63
5. Enyimba International 37 17 12 8 +6 63
6. Kwara United 37 18 8 11 +17 62
7. Rangers International 37 17 8 12 +16 59
8. Lobi Stars 37 16 7 14 +3 55
9. Plateau United 37 14 9 14 +12 51
10. Dakkada FC 37 15 5 17 –8 50
11. Katsina United 37 14 7 16 –4 49
12. MFM FC 37 12 12 13 –3 48
13. Heartland FC 37 12 9 16 – 8 45
14. Abia Warriors 37 11 11 15 –4 44
15. Jigawa G/Stars 37 11 10 16 –15 43
16. Wikki Tourists 37 11 9 17 –10 42
17. Sunshine Stars 37 10 12 15 –12 42
18. Warri Wolves 37 11 8 18 –14 41
19. FC IfeanyiUbah 37 8 12 17 –18 36
20. Adamawa United 37 5 10 22 –33 25
Match Day 38 Fixtures
Abia Warriors vs Nasarawa United
Dakkada FC vs Enyimba International
Rangers International vs Plateau United
Heartland FC vs Kano Pillars
FC IfeanyiUbah vs Warri Wolves
Kwara United vs Katsina United
Lobi Stars vs Akwa United
MFM FC vs Jigawa Golden Stars
Sunshine Stars vs Rivers United
Wikki Tourists vs Adamawa United
Results from last Match Day 37
Akwa United 5-2 MFM FC
Plateau United 2-0 Dakkada FC
Katsina United 1-0 Abia Warriors
Warri Wolves 1-0 Heartland FC
Rivers United 3-1 Lobi Stars
Enyimba International 1-1 Sunshine Stars
Nasarawa United 3-0 Rangers International
Adamawa United 0-2 Kwara United
Kano Pillars 1-0 Wikki Tourists
Jigawa Golden Stars 3-0 FC IfeanyiUbah
