The 2022–23 Namibia Premier Football League was the first season of the Namibia Premiership, the top-tier football league in Namibia which replaced the Namibia Premier League, and the first full season of top-tier football in the country following the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 November 2022 – 13 May 2023 |
| Champions | African Stars |
| Relegated | Eleven Arrows, Citizens, Black Africa |
| Champions League | African Stars |
| Matches played | 240[1] |
| Goals scored | 608 (2.53 per match)[1] |
| Top goalscorer |  Willy Stephanus (20 goals) |
← 2018–19 (Premier League) 2023–24 → | |
The Namibia Premier League was dissolved after the 2018/19 season and there was no top flight football in the country until Debmarine Namibia sponsored the league for N$13 million. The league started in November 2022 with African Stars playing Unam FC in the first match.[3][4]
African Stars won the championship with several rounds still to play and qualified for the CAF Champions League.[5]
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | African Stars (C) | 30 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 62 | 15 | +47 | 73 | Champions, Qualification to the 2023–24 CAF Champions League |
| 2 | Blue Waters | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 49 | 29 | +20 | 61 | |
| 3 | Life Fighters | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 51 | |
| 4 | Mighty Gunners | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 30 | +15 | 50 | |
| 5 | UNAM | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 47 | |
| 6 | Okahandja United | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 43 | |
| 7 | United Africa Tigers | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 42 | |
| 8 | Tura Magic | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 42 | |
| 9 | Young African | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 40 | |
| 10 | Civics | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 37 | |
| 11 | Orlando Pirates | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 40 | 47 | −7 | 36 | |
| 12 | Young Brazilians | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 34 | |
| 13 | Julinho Sporting | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 42 | 53 | −11 | 33 | |
| 14 | Black Africa (R) | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 29 | 40 | −11 | 30 | Relegation |
| 15 | Eleven Arrows (R) | 30 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 26 | |
| 16 | Citizens (R) | 30 | 2 | 5 | 23 | 18 | 65 | −47 | 11 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Controversy edit
On 8th May 2023 Sylvester ‘Lolo’ Goraseb executive member of Black Africa replied to a Facebook post by the Thru Pass Football magazine that “there will be no promotion or relegation” while sitting 3rd from the bottom of the league.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b "Debmarine Namibia Premiership 2022/2023 Season Statistics" – via Facebook.
- ^ "Namibian domestic league returns after three-year hiatus | Reuters". Reuters. February 13, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Kauraisa, Jesse Jackson (3 November 2022). "Debmarine Namibia Premiership gets underway". Namibian Sun.
- ^ "From Premier League to Premiership: Namibian top-flight league faces turbulence". FIFA. 29 December 2022.
- ^ Schulz, Helge (15 May 2023). "Stars crowned champions after great campaign".
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20230510120140/https://www.namibian.com.na/lolo-explains-no-relegation-comment/