The Nigeria Professional Football League has failed to make the list of the top ten leagues in Africa, according to the latest rankings released by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.
The IFFHS is an internationally recognised body responsible for compiling and analysing football history, records and statistics, and it periodically publishes rankings assessing the performances of leagues, clubs and players across the world.
The global league rankings released on Friday outlined the pecking order of domestic competitions across Africa.
The report showed that no African league broke into the world’s top 15, with the Egyptian Premier League emerging as the highest-ranked on the continent, placed first in Africa and 16th globally.
Leagues from North Africa continued their dominance of the continental rankings, occupying four of the top five positions.
Morocco’s top division ranked second in Africa and 39th worldwide, while South Africa followed in third place at 45th globally.
Algeria’s Ligue 1 was ranked fourth in Africa and 46th in the world, with Tunisia’s Ligue Professionnelle 1 completing the top five at 51st globally.
Other leagues listed within Africa’s top ten include the Tanzanian Premier League, DR Congo’s Linafoot, Mali’s Ligue 1 Orange, Angola’s Girabola and the Ivorian Ligue 1.
The IFFHS rankings placed the NPFL as the 12th strongest league in Africa and 91st in the global standings.
The ranking has not come as a surprise to observers, as the NPFL has faced sustained criticism over issues relating to organisation, infrastructure and the overall quality of football in recent seasons.
In addition, Nigerian clubs have struggled on the continental stage, with no team from the country winning a major African club competition in almost 20 years.
Currently, Nigeria’s representation in CAF interclub competitions is limited, with just one club remaining across the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup.
Despite the challenges, stakeholders in Nigerian football continue to express optimism that ongoing reforms will translate into tangible improvements in the league’s fortunes in the years ahead.
