World Club Rankings: NPFL drops to 91st in the world

The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has dropped to 91st position in the latest global league rankings released by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).

This is a drop of 15 places from its 76th position in 2024. In the 2025 rankings, the NPFL scored 171.75 points, placing it outside the top 90 leagues in the world.

The IFFHS rankings are based on how clubs perform in continental and international competitions, not just local matches. Experts say the NPFL’s fall is mainly due to poor and inconsistent performances by Nigerian clubs in African competitions, while leagues in other African countries continue to improve.

African League Rankings

In Africa:

Egypt’s Premier League remains the best league on the continent for the sixth year in a row.

Morocco’s Botola League stayed among Africa’s top leagues.

South Africa’s Premiership returned to Africa’s top three for the first time in 21 years.

Algeria and Tunisia completed the top five African leagues.

Under the CAF five-year ranking, Nigeria is ranked 12th with 21 points, which still allows the country to send two clubs each to CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup competitions.

Global Picture

European leagues continue to dominate world football:

12 of the top 20 leagues and 29 of the top 50 leagues are from Europe.

South America has five leagues in the top 20.

Asia has two, while CONCACAF and Oceania have one each.

The English Premier League remains the number one league in the world, followed by Spain’s La Liga and Brazil’s Serie A.

Italy’s Serie A dropped slightly but stayed ahead of Germany’s Bundesliga, while France’s Ligue 1 moved up to sixth place.

Concerns and the Way Forward

Football observers say the NPFL’s fall to 91st shows long-standing problems with:

Club performance in continental competitions

Poor infrastructure

Weak player development systems

Football analyst Tunde Adeyemi said the NPFL has strong potential, but needs better planning, investment, and improved club performance to rise again in global rankings.

With leagues in Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa getting stronger, pressure is increasing on the NPFL to improve the quality of its competition and help Nigerian clubs perform better in Africa.