# 2022–23 Nigeria Professional Football League

The 2022–23 Nigeria Professional Football League was the 52nd season of Nigeria's top-flight association football league and the 33rd since attaining professionalism. The regular season started on 8 January 2023 and concluded with the playoffs on 11 June 2023.
Bendel Insurance, Doma United, Bayelsa United and El-Kanemi Warriors were the four promoted clubs from the 2021–22 Nigeria National League, replacing Kano Pillars, Katsina United, MFM and Heartland.
Following Enyimba draw against Rivers United on 11 June at the playoffs, Enyimba secured a record ninth NPFL title at the Onikan Stadium.

## Format

The clubs and league organizers decided to start the 2022–23 season on 8 January 2023 instead of 28 December 2022 as previously planned. The league will switch to an abridged format that will see the clubs split into two groups of ten each. The top three clubs from each group will qualify for a championship round, which will be known as the Super Six, to determine the league winners.

## Teams
### Changes from previous season

The following teams changed divisions since the end of the 2021–22 season
Promoted from the 2021–22 Nigeria National League
* Bayelsa United
* Bendel Insurance
* Doma United
* El-Kanemi Warriors
Relegated from the 2021–22 Nigeria Professional Football League
* Heartland
* Kano Pillars
* Katsina United
* MFM

## Regular season
### Group A
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Bendel Insurance | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 22 | 11 | +11 | 34 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Remo Stars | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 33 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Enyimba | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 25 | 12 | +13 | 32 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Akwa United | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 32 | |
| 5 | Plateau United | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 26 | |
| 6 | Shooting Stars | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 23 | |
| 7 | Gombe United | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 20 | −10 | 19 | |
| 8 | Kwara United | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 17 | |
| 9 | Nasarawa United | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 14 | Relegation to the National League |
| 10 | El-Kanemi Warriors | 18 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 28 | −18 | 10 | Relegation to the National League |

#### Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Akwa United | 9 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Bendel Insurance | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| El-Kanemi Warriors | 10 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Enyimba | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Gombe United | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Kwara United | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Nasarawa United | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Plateau United | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Remo Stars | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Shooting Stars | 5 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
* Leader
* Qualification to Championship round
* Relegation to Nigeria National League

#### Results

| Home \ Away | AKW | BEN | EKW | ENY | GOM | KWA | NAS | PLA | REM | 3SC |
| Akwa United | | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Bendel Insurance | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| El-Kanemi Warriors | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Enyimba | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 5–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Gombe United | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Kwara United | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Nasarawa United | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Plateau United | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 3–3 |
| Remo Stars | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 2–0 |
| Shooting Stars | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |

### Group B
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Rivers United | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 34 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Lobi Stars | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 30 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Sunshine Stars | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 27 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Abia Warriors | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 24 | −2 | 27 | |
| 5 | Doma United | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 26 | |
| 6 | Niger Tornadoes | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 23 | |
| 7 | Bayelsa United | 18 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 21 | |
| 8 | Enugu Rangers | 18 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 21 | |
| 9 | Wikki Tourists | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 19 | Relegation to the National League |
| 10 | Dakkada | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | −14 | 13 | Relegation to the National League |
* ↑ Bayelsa United had three points and three goals deducted by the IMC.

#### Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Abia Warriors | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Bayelsa United | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Dakkada | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Doma United | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Enugu Rangers | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Lobi Stars | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Niger Tornadoes | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Rivers United | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Sunshine Stars | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Wikki Tourists | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
* Leader
* Qualification to Championship round
* Relegation to Nigeria National League

#### Results

| Home \ Away | ABI | BAY | DAK | DOM | ENU | LOB | NIG | RIV | SUN | WIK |
| Abia Warriors | | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Bayelsa United | 5–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Dakkada | 2–4 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Doma United | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Enugu Rangers | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Lobi Stars | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Niger Tornadoes | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| Rivers United | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Sunshine Stars | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 |
| Wikki Tourists | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | |

## Championship round

The Championship round, also known as the super six playoffs, was held between 3–11 June at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | | ENY | REM | RIV | SUN | BEN | LOB |
| 1 | Enyimba | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Champions League | — | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 |
| 2 | Remo Stars | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | Champions League | 2–2 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Rivers United | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 9 | CAF CC | — | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | — |
| 4 | Sunshine Stars | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 5 | | — | 1–1 | — | — | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| 5 | Bendel Insurance | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 | | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 |
| 6 | Lobi Stars | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 2 | | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | — |

## Top scorers

    As of 11 June 2023
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Chukwuemeka Obioma | Enyimba | 16 |
| 2 | Robert Mizo | Bayelsa United | 8 |
| 2 | Imade Osehenkhoe | Bendel Insurance | 8 |
| 4 | Nyima Nwagua | Rivers United | 7 |
| 5 | Umar Abba | Lobi Stars | 6 |
| 5 | Bello Lukman | Abia Warriors | 6 |
| 5 | David Okoromi | Niger Tornadoes | 6 |
| 5 | Cyril Olisema | Akwa United | 6 |
| 5 | Ismael Seriki | Bendel Insurance | 6 |
| 5 | Musa Usman | Doma United | 6 |