NWFL Premiership: Heartland Queens, Four Others Booted Out Of Topflight

Sunshine Queens, Dream Stars, Ibom Angels , Adamawa Queens and Heartland Queens will play no take part in the 2020-21 Nigeria Women Football League Premiership after they were booted out of the topflight on Wednesday.

NWFL Chief Operating Office Faith Ben-Anuge said all five clubs have been relegated from the top tier for failing to meet the deadline for players licencing and registration for the new season.

NWFL Chairperson Aisha Falode had warned that clubs which failed to completely adhere with all Covid-19 protocols, Club and Players Licensing, Medicals and Insurance would face stiff sanctions ahead of the start of 2020-21 NWFL Premiership.

The start of the league has been set, tentatively for Wednesday, 9 December, 2020 and fixtures were released last month.

“Following the closure of registration for the 2020/2021 NWFL Premiership Season, we hereby write to inform you of clubs licensed and eligible to participate in the upcoming NWFL 2020/2021 Premiership Season,” Anuge said.

“Consequently, clubs not listed (Sunshine Queens ,Dream Stars FC, Ibom Angels FC, Adamawa Queens FC and Heartland Queens FC) are automatically disqualified and relegated to participate in the NWFL Championship Season.”

The 2020-21 NWFL Premiership is scheduled to run for thirty weeks and will feature a mid season two-week break after Week 15.

It is not clear, however, if the expulsion of the five clubs will affect the proposed straight league format for the upcoming season.

Organisers had decided to do away with the two group format where teams are divided into two pools of eight along geographic zones with the champions decided by a “Super 4” playoff tournament.

Fixtures for the new season will, however, have to be adjusted following the expulsion of the five teams.

The 2020-21 NWFL Premiership will also provide Nigeria’s representatives for the newly instituted CAF Women’s Champions League which kicks off next year.