# 2016 Nigeria Professional Football League

The 2016 Nigeria Professional Football League (referred to as the Nigerian Glo premier league for sponsorship reasons) is the 45th season of the Nigeria Premier League, the top Nigerian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1972, and the 26th since the rebranding of the league as the "Professional League".
Enugu Rangers won their seventh league title and first since 1984. Giwa, Heartland, Ikorodu United and Warri Wolves finished as the bottom four teams in the standings and will be relegated to Nigeria National League for the 2017 season.

## Clubs

A total of 20 teams will contest the league including 16 teams from the previous season and four teams promoted from the Nigeria National League. The four promoted teams replace Bayelsa United, Kwara United, Sharks and Taraba who were all relegated to the National League at the end of the previous season

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Enugu Rangers (C) | 36 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 63 | Qualification to the 2017 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Rivers United | 36 | 19 | 3 | 14 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 60 | Qualification to the 2017 CAF Champions League |
| 3 | Wikki Tourist | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 57 | Qualification to the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Ifeanyi Uba | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 37 | 33 | +4 | 56 | Qualification to the 2017 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 5 | Lobi Stars | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 55 | |
| 6 | Sunshine Stars | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 53 | |
| 7 | Kano Pillars | 36 | 15 | 7 | 14 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 52 | |
| 8 | El Kanemi Warriors | 36 | 16 | 3 | 17 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 51 | |
| 9 | Enyimba | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 50 | |
| 10 | Nasarawa United | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 50 | |
| 11 | Niger Tornadoes | 36 | 15 | 4 | 17 | 40 | 42 | −2 | 49 | |
| 12 | Plateau United | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 34 | 37 | −3 | 49 | |
| 13 | Abia Warriors | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 48 | |
| 14 | Akwa United | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 47 | |
| 15 | Shooting Stars | 36 | 14 | 5 | 17 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 47 | |
| 16 | MFM | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 36 | 40 | −4 | 45 | |
| 17 | Warri Wolves (R) | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 29 | 38 | −9 | 45 | Relegation to the Nigeria National League |
| 18 | Heartland (R) | 36 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 30 | −5 | 44 | Relegation to the Nigeria National League |
| 19 | Ikorodu United (R) | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 32 | Relegation to the Nigeria National League |
| 20 | Giwa (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to the Nigeria National League |
* ↑ Giwa was expelled from the league following Week 18 after failing to honor three consecutive home matches. All matches involving Giwa, played and unplayed, were suspended.

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Enugu Rangers | 14 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rivers United | 4 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Wikki Tourist | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Ifeanyi Uba | 4 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Lobi Stars | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Sunshine Stars | 8 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Kano Pillars | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| El Kanemi Warriors | 17 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Enyimba | 17 | 18 | 19 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| Nasarawa United | 14 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 |
| Niger Tornadoes | 14 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 |
| Plateau United | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Abia Warriors | 8 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 13 |
| Akwa United | 8 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Shooting Stars | 17 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 |
| MFM | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
| Warri Wolves | 12 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 |
| Heartland | 12 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 18 |
| Ikorodu United | 8 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| Giwa | 17 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
* Leader
* 2017 CAF Champions League or 2017 CAF Confederation Cup
* Relegation to Nigeria National League