| Season | 2010–11 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dolphins |
| Relegated | Plateau United,Zamfara United,Crown F.C.,JUTH F.C. |
| 2012 CAF Champions League | Dolphins Sunshine Stars |
| 2012 CAF Confederation Cup | Warri Wolves Heartland (cup winner) |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 786 (2.07 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Jude Aneke -Kaduna United (20) |
| Biggest home win | Plateau United 7-0 vsKwara United (23 Oct. 2011) |
| Biggest away win | Kwara United 2-0 atJUTH (11 Dec. 2010) Sharks F.C. 3-1 at Crown F.C. (2 November 2011) |
| Highest scoring | Enugu Rangers 5,Ocean Boys 2 (21 Nov. 2010) Sharks 4,Crown 3 (26 Feb. 2011) Plateau United 7-0 vsKwara United (23 Oct. 2011) |
| Longest winning run | Dolphins - 5 games from 22 Dec. 2010 to 22 Jan. 2011 |
| Longest unbeaten run | 8 games:Bukola Babes (6 wins, 2 ties) from 22 Dec. to 16 Feb. |
| Longest winless run | 9 games:Plateau United (3 ties, 6 losses) from 23 Dec. to 20 Feb. |
| Longest losing run | Crown - 5 games from 22 Dec. to 23 Jan. |
| Highest attendance | 26,000:Enyimba atK. Pillars 11 Dec. 2010 |
2012 → | |
The2010–11 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 fromthe 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,[1] 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 theFederation Cup and teams playing on the continent to concentrate on their fixtures.
| 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 for2012 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Sunshine Stars | 38 | 22 | 5 | 11 | 55 | 35 | +20 | 71 | |
| 3 | Warri Wolves | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 66 | Qualification for2012 CAF Confederation Cup |
| 4 | Kano Pillars | 38 | 20 | 5 | 13 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 65 | Qualification forWAFU 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 for2012 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 toNigeria National League |
| 18 | Zamfara United(R) | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 39 | |
| 19 | Crown(R) | 38 | 11 | 4 | 23 | 34 | 48 | −14 | 37 | |
| 20 | JUTH F.C.(R) | 38 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 51 | −25 | 32 |
| 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[6] |
| Sunshine Stars | Solomon Ogbeide | fired | Aug. 18 2010 | Gbenga Ogunbote | Aug. 18 2010[7] |
| Gombe United | Ben Duamlong | Resigned | Oct.8 2010 | Bernard Ogbe | Nov. 5 2010[8] |
| Heartland | Samson Siasia | resigned to takeSuper 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 becomeSuper Eagles assistant | Jan. 1 2011 | Ladan Bosso[9] | 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 |
