Nigerian Football
RELEGATION BATTLES HIGHLIGHTS FINAL MATCH DAY OF NIGERIA FOOTBALL LEAGUE
BY PROMISE ETIM
The final round of matches in the regular
Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) season holds on Sunday, with two
teams expected to join Niger Tornadoes and Remo Stars to the lower division
from Group A, while three others are expected to drop alongside Yobe Desert
Stars from Group B.
www.npfl.ng previews
what could be an intriguing day of action across 12 different venues in the
country.
Group
A
Aside from Rangers International, Lobi
Stars, Enyimba International and playoff chasing MFM of Lagos, six teams
(Bendel Insurance, Rivers United, Katsina United, Wikki Tourists, Sunshine
Stars and Kwara United) are faced with difficult task of beating the drop, as
only two of these six teams play themselves (Rivers United v Bendel Insurance).
Rivers United as at Matchday 17 were
relishing the prospects of a playoff spot, but that dream went up in smoke on
Matchday 21 when they were beaten 1-0 by Rangers International in Enugu.
They face Bendel Insurance, who got promoted to the top flight in the previous campaign.
A
draw for both sides could be enough to keep them in the premier division, but
the outcome of Rivers United and Bendel Insurance’s clash in Port Harcourt,
will also be dependent on what transpires between Sunshine Stars and MFM FC at
the Akure Township Stadium. Rivers United and Bendel Insurance are on 28 points
apiece, a win with two goals advantage for Sunshine Stars and draw in Port
Harcourt could turn the tide, as all three teams could end up on 29 points,
with Rivers United going into the matchday with a zero goal difference.
Katsina United could also avoid the drop
if they beat seven-time champions Enyimba at home.
A
win for Abdullahi Biffo’s men could take them to 30 points, but the task seems a
difficult challenge as the visitors Enyimba FC are aware if they slip in
Katsina, MFM FC could leapfrog them to the third playoff spot, if the Lagos
side win in Akure, away to Sunshine Stars.
Wikki Tourists host leader Rangers
International, who have already qualified for the playoff.
A win for Aliyu Zubairu’s men in their adopted home ground (the Pantami Stadium in Gombe), could see them take their points haul to 30 and that should guaranteed their safety.
Kwara United also are with a slight chance of beating the drop, as they travel to already-relegated Niger Tornadoes.
Kwara
United’s chances will solely be dependent on matches from other venues. While
Rivers United host Insurance in Port Harcourt, Kwara United could drop neither
of them to the relegation zone if they secure a win in Minna.
While others will be hoping to survive on
Sunday, Lobi Stars will be hoping to cement their place in the playoff, when
the visit Remo Stars at Sagamu, with the latter already planning for life in
the lower division.
Group
B
Akwa United, Kano Pillars and FC
Ifeanyiubah are the only teams that are safe. With Akwa and Pillars having
secured their places in the playoff on Matchdays 20 and 21 respectively, FC
Ifeanyiubah will be hoping to do so on Matchday 22, when the host Akwa.
FC Ifeanyiubah need only a draw against
the Uyo-based side to book their place in the Super-6.
Defeat
for them, could mean Nasarawa United, El-Kanemi Warriors and Delta Force could
leapfrog them to third spot, if they secure wins in their respectively games.
If such scenario emerges, Nasarawa United
can pick the final playoff spot, by securing a win away to already-relegated
Yobe Stars, while El-Kanemi will need to win with two goals advantage at the
Okigwe Township Stadium, against Heartland FC. However, given the same scenario
of FC Ifeanyiubah slipping at home, Delta Force might need to get an eight-goal
haul to improve their goals difference when they host relegation-threatened
Plateau United.
Also banking on a positive result on
Sunday to qualify for the playoff, any of Nasarawa United, El-Kanemi and Delta
Force could also be relegated if Plateau United, Abia Warriors, Heartland,
Gombe United and Go Round secure wins in their respectively games.
Maikaba’s Plateau United could be relegated
if they fail to secure at least a point in Asaba away to Delta Force depending
on results elsewhere.
A
draw for the 2017 champions might just not be enough to keep them in the top
division if Heartland FC get a win at home to El-Kanemi Warriors in Okigwe.
Abia Warriors’ 2-2 draw in Uyo on Matchday
21, may not be enough to guarantee their safety, as they need to finish the job
against Kano Pillars at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
Abia
Warriors are level on 28 points with Heartland, with a better goals difference
than their neighbours and may need to score more goals to avert danger,
assuming the Owerri side improve on their goals difference with a big margin
win (against El-Kanemi), and the rest of the teams threatened by relegation win
their respective games.
Gombe United and Go Round have outside
chances of beating the drop, but one of them will have to experience life in
the lower league as both teams clash in Omoku on Sunday.
A draw could still see both teams relegated, but a win could salvage one of them. Go Round are however disadvantaged, with a negative goals difference of six, meaning they need to win with a margin of at least five or six goals, to stand a chance, depending on results from other venues.
All games are billed to kickoff by 4pm this Sunday at the 12 different venues.
The
fixtures
Group A
Wikki Tourists v Rangers
Rivers United v Bendel
Insurance
Remo Stars v Lobi Stars
Niger Tornadoes v Kwara United
Katsina United v Enyimba
Sunshine Stars v MFM
Group
B
Yobe Stars v Nasarawa United
Go Round v Gombe United
Delta Force v Plateau United
Abia Warriors v Kano Pillars
FC Ifeanyiubah v Akwa United
Heartland FC v El-Kanemi
Nigerian Football
The league title will be icing on Soname’s birthday cake on Sunday

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
“Let the music play; Make the voices sing; Start the celebration; Drums may roll out” is part of the lyrics of the famous song, ‘Barcelona’, composed and sung by Freddie Mercury along with Montserrat Caballé. It was originally to be the theme song for Barcelona 92, but for the demise of Mercury months earlier.
The recording of the song was played over a travelogue of Barcelona at the start of the international broadcast of the opening ceremony of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The lyrics fit appropriately for Kunle Soname, as he turns 59 this Sunday, a day his club, Remo Stars, may emerge Nigerian champion. If that happens, he becomes the first man to be so blessed, as no other club owner has won major laurels on their birthdays.
A win by his club, Remo Stars, not only confer the Nigerian championship to the club, Soname will become the first sole proprietor to win the Nigerian league since that of Oscar Udoji’s Udoji United in 1996.
Still blazing on records, Soname’s club will become the first in Ogun State to win the Nigerian lead league and the first South West champions of Nigeria since 1998 when Shooting Stars won the Nigerian League.
Quiet, self-effacing, Soname is an Ikenne-born businessman who works silently, but efficiently like a brand-new air conditioner.
His ValueJet had been the career of the national team since 2023.
He has made a success in virtually all endeavours, and is well known for his cheerful disposition, humility and generosity.
On Friday, the Nigerian U17-Women’s team clinched a ticket to the World Cup, great thanks to this gentleman who not only quietly motivated the team financially, he hosted their home matches.
Yet he would not voice out the financial gestures, which only came out through secondary sources of the NFF.
Never since the days of Bashorun MKO Abiola has a man been known to run three football clubs.
Abiola had the famous Abiola Babes, Concord FC and also the ITT football club in Lagos.
Soname’s Remo Stars are getting beyond the blue skies. His Beyond Limits Football Academy has become a model that even CAF is quietly studying.
The club has become the launchpad into a professional football career for many Nigerian youngsters who are now flourishing in European and American leagues.
Soname’s third club, the Remo Stars Ladies, has qualified for the Super 6 of the NWFL. That they are still in the President Federation Cup points to the fact of a possible double title this season.
Soname is a game-changer whose support is not limited to football.
Since 2022, his Bet9ja outfit, which is easily the most popular in the gaming business, has been sponsoring the Southeast Bet9ja Foundation Badminton Championship, where close to 100 players have been featured.
Miracle Ufuasia of Enugu State collects her trophy and medal from Obiageli Solaja, the Africa Women in Badminton Award Winner, 2019.
The championship brought up budding badminton players, some of whom later made marks even at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
In an era where private ownership of football clubs is becoming a high-risk venture, Soname raised the bar with his Remo Stars, which has become a model football club in Nigeria.
Equipped with its own all-covered stadium, the club boasts of easily the best turf in Nigeria.
Those marvelling at the current Remo Stars Stadium will be swept off their feet as Soname is not done yet. A bigger arena is in the offing.
When he piloted Remo Stars to the international level, featuring in the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup, it was a landmark.
That was the first time in more than 30 years in Nigeria that a one-man-owned football club featured in a continental competition.
His club structure features a football academy, which is the nursery ground for Nigeria’s football stars. The 1998 Africa Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba, was full of awe when he made a tour of the facilities of the academy where players of Beyond Limits are housed at two per room.
“Oh, I wish these were available in my formative years, the sky would have been my limit”, Ikpeba remarked to Sports Village Square.
The father of Super Eagles’ player Ola Aina, Femi Aina, was pleasantly surprised when he visited the Remo Stars facilities last year.
On getting inside, he exclaimed, saying he never imagined such a facility could exist in Nigeria, let alone his own small town of Ikenne.
This is comparable to what I am used to at the Chelsea academy in London, said Mr. Aina, who also remarked that he never knew there could still be another rich man, outside MKO Abiola in Nigeria, who has tremendous passion for football.
Olufemi Aina (c), father of Ola Aina, is thrilled at what Kunle Soname put up in Ikenne.
“I thought it was only the late MKO Abiola that has the capability of putting together a facility of this nature.
“This man, (Soname), earns my maximum respect.”, said Mr. Aina, who at that point had never met the Remo Stars proprietor.
“I am used to sports facilities, having been the one taking Ola to different academies when he was a teenager. “This place reminds me of Chelsea facilities.”
In the block were a gym, clinic, indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy chamber, boardrooms and a clinic.
The next point of call was the restaurant being used by the pupils at the Beyond Limits Football Academy. The aroma and ambience were breathtaking. On the walls were messages of inspiration to the pupils and footballers.
The matron later informed Mr. Aina of the daily routine of the players and the level of discipline they are exposed to.
He met some of them at the common room where they were playing computer games. Mr. Aina introduced himself and told them of the tremendous privileges the players are enjoying and admonished them to make the best of the opportunity.
The residential buildings at Kunle Soname’s outfit have 56 rooms for junior and senior players, accommodating 112 footballers.
It has five semi-detached blocks of 10 units, two-bedroom coaches’ accommodation, a restaurant for players and officials, as well as an administrative block comprising offices, a conference room, a training classroom and reception.
The block is equipped with a panoramic lift to the first floor, which is the table tennis centre. A twin basketball court has been added as Soname’s facilities will be the epicentre of next month’s National Sports Festival. It will be the first time facilities owned by one man will play a prominent role in the 52-year-old sports fiesta.
Others are the sports centre block of the Remo Stars Stadium facility, comprising a gym, clinic, swimming pool, hydrotherapy chamber and a 30-room hotel with panoramic lift.
Also at the model arena is a tournament pitch with a 10,000-capacity covered pavilion, three training pitches, 2,000 capacity car parks and a good internal road.
Soname is possibly the only Nigerian who runs four clubs. Three are in Nigeria – Remo Stars, Remo Stars Ladies and Beyond Limits. He is also the owner of Portugal’s Clube Desportivo Feirense, which is commonly known as CD Feirense.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Nigerian Football
Nigeria Premier League attains a crescendo this weekend

BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) gets to its climax this weekend, especially on Sunday, when the title could be won and one of the other two tickets for the continental competition could be confirmed.
Also, one or two other teams may get their visas to the lower league.
Remo Stars will become the Nigerian champions if they win their home match against Niger Tornadoes in their fortress in Ikenne.
History seems about to repeat itself. It was Niger Tornadoes that Remo Stars beat on 17 July 2022 to get their first ever continental ticket to feature in the following season’s CAF Confederation Cup.
This Sunday, Niger Tornadoes may again be Remo Stars’ launchpad into the league title. What a season it has been for the club that has led the Nigerian league for the longest duration.
They were leaders into Christmas 2024. They were leaders at the end of 2024 and leaders into 2025 as they became the first club to have a double after beating Akwa United home and away.
No team won more away matches than Remo Stars this season. They won five matches away from home. At home, they won 15 of their 17 matches, making Ikenne a fortress. Only Rivers United and Katsina United, who drew their matches, escaped defeat in Ikenne.
With 20 wins, no team has won more matches this season than Remo Stars.
With the title almost decided, and the runners-up awaiting confirmation, the battle zone is the contest for the third place where seven teams are in contest.
The most ferocious of the battle will be that of the surprise team of the season, Ikorodu City and rejuvenated Abia Warriors.
They occupy third and fourth positions respectively. Yet at the onset of the season, those positions looked unlikely. Ikorodu City were the punching bag for the other teams, losing home and away and got their first league point only after five matches.
Today, the continental door is invitingly open to them. What about Abia Warriors, who began the season with a 2-0 home loss to Remo Stars?
They looked like going for their pound of flesh when they suddenly went two goals up against Remo Stars in Ikenne. But Remo Stars fought gamely back to snatch a nervy 3-2 win.
Abia Warriors will be hosting the initial top three runners, Shooting Stars who suddenly slumped in fortunes. But a win by the Ibadan team may reignite their continental aspirations.
Also jostling for a possible top-three finish are the quartet of Bendel Insurance, Kano Pillars, Enugu Rangers and Enyimba.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Nigerian Football
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria

The Nigeria U17 women’s team has been given incentives to make it to the Women’s World Cup for the eighth time.
The team, Flamingos, who arrived in Algiers in the early hours of Wednesday aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, are highly inspired by the imminence of another FIFA World Cup ticket as well as further financial windfall from the Nigeria Football Federation and billionaire business mogul Kunle Soname.
Soname gifted the young players and their officials the sum of N4 million (one million naira for every goal) following their commanding win over the North Africans at the Remo Stars Stadium on Saturday, while the NFF gave out the sum of N2 million (five hundred thousand naira for every goal).
President of NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Soname have both confirmed that the same financial incentives are in place for the second leg in Blida on Friday.
“Our objective is clear – to win the FIFA World Cup ticket. That is the big motivation.
“Yet, we have been further incentivised by the monetary rewards. My girls will go all out on Friday night,” Head Coach Bankole Olowookere said.
Olowookere, who led the Flamingos to their last two World Cup ventures, will most likely rely on first-leg two-goal heroine Queen Joseph, lone-goal scorer Zainab Raji and Kaosarat Olanrewaju to start at the fore, with Shakirat Moshood, Muinat Rotimi and Philomena Isaiah supplying the passes from the midfield.
Goalkeeper and captain Christiana Uzoma and defenders Azeezat Oduntan, Hannah Ibrahim, Christiana Sunday and Jumai Adebayo are also likely to start.
The Confederation of African Football has selected Cameroonian official Marie Noelle Etong to be the referee, with her compatriots Marcelle Teikeu and Innocentia Ntangti as assistant referee 1 and fourth official, respectively, while Chadian Ngarassoum Victorine will be assistant referee 2.
Oumou Souleymane Kane from Mauritania will be the commissioner, and Sabelo Maphosa-Sibindi from Zimbabwe will be in the role of referee assessor.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WOMEN'S FOOTBALL7 days ago
Naira rain falls on Nigeria’s Flamingos after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria
- OBITUARY4 days ago
NFF mourns the demise of former FIFA referee, Bosede Momoh
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Financial rainfall awaits Nigeria’s Flamingos for every goal scored in Algeria
- U-17 AFCON7 days ago
Morocco crowned CAF U-17 AFCON champions after dramatic penalty shootout win over Mali
- U-20 FOOTBALL6 days ago
Nigeria begin CAF Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations title chase with Tunisian clash
- Nigerian Football6 days ago
Remo Stars maintain ‘7Up’ lead over Rivers United
- feature4 days ago
Ghana’s Cardinal, Appiah Turkson, listed as a possible Pope
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Former WAFU President, Ogufere mourns Christian Chukwu