The Super Ligue, formerly known as Ligue 1, is the top division of

football in Niger Football is the most popular sport in Niger, a nation of over 25 million. International Despite the sport's popularity in the country, Niger have so far been rather unsuccessful in international football, never winning a major tournament and fa ...

. There are 14 teams competing in the league, which operates on a system of

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues ...

with the Ligue Nationale. The league began in 1966, with

Secteur 6 Olympic FC de Niamey is a Nigerien football club based in Niamey. Their home games are played at Général Seyni Kountché Stadion. The club was formed in 1974 from the football club Secteur 6. Achievements * Niger Premier League: 12 ::1966 ...

winning the first five championships. It was known as the Ligue 1 between 2010 and 2018, when it changed its name to Super Ligue.

History

Although the championship has been contested since 1966, the structure has changed over time, and a number of years the competition has been canceled or shortened. In 2002, the league was completely cancelled. Several major clubs dropped out in 2004 and 2005 for financial reasons and because of the 2005 famine afflicting the south center of the nation. In 2004, for instance, three clubs in the first round were disqualified, and more than two dozen matches were annulled or awarded after the fact for a variety of offences. Since the 1990s, the clubs compete in a group stage, the winners of which advance to the "Super League" which contests the second half of the season, with the losers contesting a league to determine what clubs will be relegated to the

Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

leagues. The Leagues in each of the Nigerien regions (called the Nigerien D2 Championships) then send champions to a play-off to determine which two clubs will be promoted. Historically,

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

has had the most accomplished regional league, and has provided most clubs in the national championship. Only two clubs from outside Niamey have ever won the championship.RSSSF Championships
/ref> The Ligue de Niamey has been powerful enough that, after disputes over relegation on 2000, five Niamey clubs formed their own rival competition (the "Coupe des Sponsors"), and played only the Ligue de Niamey championship in the 2002 season, when the

Nigerien Football Federation The Nigerien Football Federation (FENIFOOT) (french: Fédération Nigerienne de Football) is the governing body of football in Niger. It organizes the national football league and the national team. History The FENIFOOT was founded in 1961, and a ...

cancelled the season due to funding shortfalls.RSSSF 2001

/ref>

Current clubs (2021−22 season)

Previous champions

*1966:

(Niamey) *1967:

(Niamey) *1968:

(Niamey) *1969:

(Niamey) *1970:

(Niamey) *1971: AS FAN (Niamey) *1972: ''no championship'' *1973: Secteur 7 (Niamey) *1974:

Sahel SC Sahel Sporting Club is a Nigerien football club based in Niamey. The club was formed in 1974 from the football club Secteur 7. Achievements * Niger Premier League: 13 ::1973 (as Secteur 7) ::1974, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 200 ...

(Niamey) *1975: AS FAN (Niamey) *1976:

Olympic FC Olympic Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was founded in 1967 and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, with home matches played at Goodwin Park. The club has grow ...

(Niamey) *1977:

(Niamey) *1978:

(Niamey) *1979: ''no championship'' *1980: AS Niamey (Niamey) *1981: AS Niamey (Niamey) *1982: AS Niamey (Niamey) *1983:

Jangorzo FC Jangorzo FC is a Nigerien football (soccer), football club based in Maradi, Niger, Maradi. Their home games are played at Stade de Maradi. Achievements

*Niger Premier League: 1 :: 1983 *Niger Cup: 1 :: 1983 Football clubs in Niger Sup ...

(Maradi) *1984: Espoir FC (Zinder) *1985: Zumunta AC (Niamey) *1986:

(Niamey) *1987:

(Niamey) *1988: Zumunta AC (Niamey) *1989:

(Niamey) *1990:

(Niamey) *1991:

(Niamey) *1992:

(Niamey) *1993: Zumunta AC (Niamey) *1994:

(Niamey) *1995: ''no championship'' *1996:

(Niamey) *1997–98:

(Niamey) *1999:

(Niamey) *2000: JS du Ténéré (Niamey) *2001: JS du Ténéré (Niamey) *2002: ''no championship'' *2003:

(Niamey) *2004:

(Niamey) *2004–05: AS-FNIS (Niamey) *2005–06: AS-FNIS (Niamey) *2006–07:

(Niamey) *2008: AS Police (Niamey) *2009:

(Niamey) *2010: AS FAN (Niamey) *2010–11: AS GNN (Niamey) *2011–12:

(Niamey) *2012–13: AS Douanes (Niamey) *2013–14: AS GNN (Niamey) *2014–15: AS Douanes (Niamey) * 2015–16: AS FAN (Niamey) * 2016–17: AS FAN (Niamey) * 2017–18: AS SONIDEP (Niamey) * 2018–19: AS SONIDEP (Niamey) * 2019–20: ''abandoned'' * 2020–21: US Gendarmerie Nationale (Niamey) * 2021–22: ASN Nigelec (Niamey)

Performance by club

References

External links

League at fifa.com

* ttps://archive.today/20130108010703/http://tournoiuemoa.fr/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=118 UEMOA Cup, Niger qualifying page, 2008 {{CAF leagues Football leagues in Niger

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages1966 establishments in Niger Sports leagues established in 1966