2010–11 Nigeria Premier League
# 2010–11 Nigeria Premier League

The 2010–11 Nigeria Premier League was the 40th season of the competition since its inception, and the 21st since the rebranding of the league as the "Professional League". Enyimba International were the defending champions.

The season was originally supposed to start 25 September, then was delayed to 2 October. However after a series of meetings and threatened lawsuits, the league announced that it would play with 24 teams, including the four teams relegated from the previous season. The tentative compromise plans included two divisions of 12 teams each with the top two making the season-ending Super Four, mirroring the league's format in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. This idea was canceled by the NPL on October 7 and the league returned to 20 teams for the season.

The season was delayed again to start the weekend of 23 October, and delayed yet again to 6 November because of issues with the assignment of referees. Due to enforcement of minimum pitch standards, several teams have been made to play in different stadiums outside their home cities.

The second half of the season began 11 May after a six-week break, including two delays for national elections. The season was finished on 13 November 2011 after another six-week delay to allow for the Federation Cup and teams playing on the continent to concentrate on their fixtures.

## Clubs

| Team name | Home city | Home venue | First year of current stint in League |
| - | - | - | - |
| Bukola Babes | Ilorin | Kwara State Stadium/Tafawa Balewa Stadium | 2010 |
| Crown FC | Ogbomosho | Ilaro Stadium | 2010 |
| Dolphins | Port Harcourt | Liberation Stadium | 2009 |
| Enugu Rangers | Enugu | Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium | 1973 |
| Enyimba | Aba | Enyimba International Stadium | 1994 |
| Gombe United | Gombe | Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa Stadium/Pantami Stadium | 1994 |
| Heartland | Owerri | Dan Anyiam Stadium/U.J. Esuene Stadium | 1975 |
| JUTH F.C. | Jos | Rwang Pam Stadium/Kaduna Township Stadium | 2010 |
| Kaduna United | Kaduna | Kaduna Township Stadium | 2008 |
| Kano Pillars | Kano | Sani Abacha Stadium | 2001 |
| Kwara United | Ilorin | Kwara State Stadium/Offa Stadium/MKO Abiola Stadium | 2009 |
| Lobi Stars | Makurdi | Jalingo City Stadium/Aper Aku Stadium | 1999 |
| Niger Tornadoes | Minna | Minna Township Stadium | 2003 |
| Ocean Boys | Brass | Samson Siasia Stadium | 2006 |
| Plateau United | Jos | Rwang Pam Stadium/Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium | 2010 |
| Sharks | Port Harcourt | Sharks Stadium | 2008 |
| Shooting Stars | Ibadan | MKO Abiola Stadium/Liberty Stadium | 2009 |
| Sunshine Stars | Akure | Gateway Stadium (Ijebu Ode) | 2007 |
| Warri Wolves | Warri | Warri Township Stadium | 2008 |
| Zamfara United | Gusau | Sardauna Memorial Stadium/Sani Abacha Stadium | 2007 |

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dolphins (C) | 38 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 73 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Sunshine Stars | 38 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 71 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Champions League |
| 3 | Warri Wolves | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 66 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Kano Pillars | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 65 | Qualification for WAFU Club Championship |
| 5 | Sharks | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 63 | |
| 6 | Enugu Rangers | 38 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 62 | |
| 7 | Enyimba | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 61 | |
| 8 | Kaduna United | 38 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 56 | |
| 9 | Kwara United | 38 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 53 | |
| 10 | Lobi Stars | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 53 | |
| 11 | Heartland | 38 | 16 | 4 | 18 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 52 | Qualification for 2012 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 12 | Bukola Babes | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 51 | |
| 13 | Gombe United | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 50 | |
| 14 | Niger Tornadoes | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 50 | |
| 15 | Shooting Stars | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 47 | |
| 16 | Ocean Boys | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 47 | |
| 17 | Plateau United (R) | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 44 | Relegated to Nigeria National League |
| 18 | Zamfara United (R) | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 39 | Relegated to Nigeria National League |
| 19 | Crown (R) | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 37 | Relegated to Nigeria National League |
| 20 | JUTH F.C. (R) | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 51 | −25 | 32 | Relegated to Nigeria National League |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit Makers | Sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Bukola Babes | Kabiru Sulaiman | Abubakar Yusuf | | |
| Crown FC | Oladunni Oyekale | Johnson Abiodun | | |
| Dolphins | Stanley Eguma | Emmanuel Godwin | | |
| Enugu Rangers | Alphonsus Dike | Austin Iyangbe | | |
| Enyimba | Okey Emordi | Okechukwu Odita | Joma | |
| Gombe United | Bernard Ogbe | | | |
| Heartland | Lodewijk de Kruif | Chinedu Efugh | | |
| JUTH F.C. | Emmanuel Deutsch | | | |
| Kaduna United | Maurice Cooreman | Papa Idris | | |
| Kano Pillars | Ladan Bosso | | | |
| Kwara United | Kadiri Ikhana | | | |
| Lobi Stars | John Zaki | | | |
| Niger Tornadoes | Justin Tenger | Kelvin Njoku | | |
| Ocean Boys | Samson Unuanel | | | |
| Plateau United | Nduka Ndubuisi | Ajibade Omolade | | |
| Sharks | John Obuh | Odinga Odinga | | |
| Shooting Stars | Fatai Amoo | Shakiru Lawal | OWU Sportswear | |
| Sunshine Stars | Gbenga Ogunbote | James Moses | | |
| Warri Wolves | Paul Aigbogun | Goodluck Nnamadu | Lotto | Oceanic Bank |
| Zamfara United | Bello Garba Gusau | | | |

### News

* December 12- Ocean Boys defender Emmanuel Okoli collapsed 39 minutes into a game vs. Niger Tornadoes and died en route to the hospital.
* December 16- The league was named the "MTN Premier League" after the NFF secured sponsorship from the MTN Group. However sponsorship was rescinded January 27 and the bidding was reopened.
* January 8- In Abeokuta, Shooting Stars and Tornadoes played the first night game in Nigeria's top division in twenty-nine years.
* Due to unrest in the city of Jos, on January 13 JUTH announced they were moving home games to Kaduna and Plateau United were going to play in Enugu for one month.

### Managerial (head coach) changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Warri Wolves | Lawrence Akpokona | fired | end of 2009-10 season | Paul Aigbogun | 2 September 2010 |
| Kwara United | Justin Tenger | fired | end of 2009-10 season | Kadiri Ikhana | 17 July 2010 |
| Sunshine Stars | Solomon Ogbeide | fired | Aug. 18 2010 | Gbenga Ogunbote | Aug. 18 2010 |
| Gombe United | Ben Duamlong | Resigned | Oct.8 2010 | Bernard Ogbe | Nov. 5 2010 |
| Heartland | Samson Siasia | resigned to take Super Eagles job | Dec. 1 2010 | Lodewijk de Kruif | Feb. 7 2011 |
| Niger Tornadoes | Ladan Bosso | fired | Nov. 26 2010 | Samson Unuanel (interim) | Nov. 26 2010 |
| Crown F.C. | Ganiyu Salami | fired | Jan. 22 2011 | Oladunni Oyekale | Jan. 22 2011 |
| Kano Pillars F.C. | Salisu Yusuf | resigned to become Super Eagles assistant | Jan. 1 2011 | Ladan Bosso | Jan. 23 2011 |
| Niger Tornadoes | Samson Unuanel | interim period ends | Feb. 6 2011 | Justin Tenger | Feb. 6 2011 |
| JUTH F.C. | Tunde Abdulrahman | fired | Feb. 17 2011 | Emmanuel Deutsch | Feb. 28 2011 |
| Ocean Boys F.C. | Larry Eceli | fired | May 20, 2011 | Samson Unuanel | May 20, 2011 |
| Bukola Babes F.C. | Festus Allen | suspended/resigned | June 8, 2011 | Kabiru Sulaiman | June 8, 2011 |
