Wikiwand AI

2025–26 Nigeria Premier Football League

Nigerian association football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025–26 Nigeria Premier Football League was the 55th season of Nigeria's top-flight association football league, the 36th since attaining professionalism and the third under the current name. The season commenced on 22 August 2025 and ended on 24 May 2026[1] with a one-week mid-season break from 30 December to 6 January and another two weeks break from 20 April to 2 May.[2][3]

Season2025–26
Dates22 August 2025 – 24 May 2026
ChampionsEnugu Rangers (9th title)
Relegated
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
Nigeria Premier Football League
Season2025–26
Dates22 August 2025 – 24 May 2026
ChampionsEnugu Rangers (9th title)
Relegated
Champions League
Confederation CupShooting Stars
El-Kanemi Warriors (as Federation Cup winners)
Matches380
Goals769 (2.02 per match)
Top goalscorer3 players (14 goals)
Biggest home winNiger Tornadoes 4–0 Plateau United (19 October 2025)
Bendel Insurance 4–0 Ikorodu City (1 March 2026)
Kano Pillars 4–0 Bendel Insurance (5 April 2026)
Bayelsa United 4–0 Kwara United (24 May 2026)
Highest scoringWikki Tourists 4–4 Katsina United (8 February 2026)
Longest winning runNasarawa United (5 matches)
Longest unbeaten runRivers United (9 matches)
Longest winless runBendel Insurance (8 matches)
Longest losing runKwara United (4 matches)
All statistics correct as of 24 May 2026.
Close

After an eventful final matchday, Enugu Rangers were crowned champions after defeating Ikorodu City away at Lagos to remain ahead of Rivers United on the table.[4] Their win was their second in three seasons and their ninth overall, making them joint highest league winners along with Enyimba.[5]

Defending champions Remo Stars were relegated along with El-Kanemi Warriors on the final matchday, as they failed to win their games with Remo Stars relegating on goal difference against Kwara United.[6] Remo Stars became the third defending champion to get relegated the following season, following Shooting Stars in 1999 and Bayelsa United in 2010.[7] They joined Wikki Tourists and Bayelsa United, who had been previously confirmed relegated two weeks prior.[8][9][5]

Shooting Stars qualified for a continental tournament for the first time since 1999, qualifying for the 2026–27 CAF Confederation Cup ahead of Ikorodu City despite a loss at the final matchday.[10]

Teams

Changes from previous season

Twenty teams, consisting of the top sixteen teams from the previous season and four promoted teams from the Nigeria National League, are competing in the league. The promoted teams are NNL champions Warri Wolves, Wikki Tourists who have played previously in the top flight, and newcomers Barau and Kun Khalifat.[11][12]

More information Promoted from 2024–25 National League, Relegated to ...
Increase Promoted from
2024–25 National League		 Decrease Relegated to
2025–26 National League
Warri Wolves
Wikki Tourists
Barau
Kun Khalifat		 Lobi Stars
Sunshine Stars
Akwa United
Heartland
Close

Teams information

Locations of the 2025–26 Nigeria Premier Football League teams

The below stadiums are those utilized by the clubs for most of the season, it does not note those that were used by the clubs temporarily.

More information Team, Kit supplier ...
Team Kit supplier Shirt Sponsor Sleeve Sponsor Location Stadium Capacity
Abia Warriors Owu Eunisell Umuahia Umuahia Township Stadium 5,000
Barau Cone sport Dambatta Sani Abacha Stadium[a] 16,000
Bayelsa United Yenagoa Samson Siasia Stadium
Ozoro Stadium		 5,000
10,000
Bendel Insurance Fourteen Sterling Bank Benin City Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium 12,000
El-Kanemi Warriors Maiduguri El-Kanemi Stadium 10,000
Enugu Rangers Cone sport Afrinvest Senior Barman Nortra Enugu Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium 22,000
Enyimba joma Stake.com United Nigeria Airlines Aba Enyimba International Stadium 16,000
Ikorodu City CF moto Betking Indomie Ikorodu, Lagos Onikan Stadium 10,000
Kano Pillars AO RFI hausa Kano Sani Abacha Stadium 16,000
Katsina United S sport Katsina Muhammadu Dikko Stadium 35,000
Kun Khalifat Adidas Old English Bar & Grills Owerri Dan Anyiam Stadium 10,000
Kwara United Owu BC Games Ilorin Kwara State Stadium 18,000
Nasarawa United Elite king sport Lafia Lafia Township Stadium 10,000
Niger Tornadoes Ammaz Niger foods Minna Bako Kontagora Stadium 5,000
Plateau United Cone sport Jos New Jos Stadium 44,000
Remo Stars Dexie Bet9ja ValueJet Ikenne Remi Stars Stadium[b] 10,000
Rivers United Owu Port Harcourt Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium 40,000
Shooting Stars Pavelet Ibadan Lekan Salami Stadium 15,000
Warri Wolves Tico Warri Ozoro Stadium 10,000
Wikki Tourists M sports Bauchi Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium 11,000
Close
  1. [a]
    Barau play all their home games at Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano as their home stadium Dambatta Stadium, Dambatta is not suitable to host games.[13]
  2. [b]
    Remo Stars played some of their home games at MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta as their home stadium was undergoing renovation works.[14]

League table

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Enugu Rangers (C, Q) 38 19 11 8 47 27 +20 68 Qualification for the Champions League
2 Rivers United 38 19 10 9 44 31 +13 67
3 Shooting Stars 38 18 6 14 41 40 +1 60 Qualification for the Confederation Cup
4 Ikorodu City 38 16 10 12 43 39 +4 58
5 Bendel Insurance 38 14 14 10 44 38 +6 56
6 Nasarawa United 38 16 8 14 37 34 +3 56
7 Abia Warriors 38 16 7 15 31 34 −3 55
8 Barau 38 13 13 12 34 30 +4 52
9 Katsina United 38 14 10 14 36 39 −3 52
10 Plateau United 38 15 5 18 39 40 −1 50
11 Enyimba 38 13 10 15 44 42 +2 49
12 Kun Khalifat 38 13 10 15 42 40 +2 49
13 Warri Wolves 38 13 10 15 36 41 −5 49
14 Niger Tornadoes 38 13 9 16 37 36 +1 48
15 Kano Pillars[a] 38 15 6 17 34 39 −5 48
16 Kwara United[b] 38 13 11 14 32 36 −4 47
17 Remo Stars (R) 38 14 5 19 42 47 −5 47 Relegation to the National League
18 El-Kanemi Warriors (R) 38 13 8 17 27 46 −19 47 Qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup and Relegation to the National League[c]
19 Bayelsa United (R) 38 11 10 17 37 42 −5 43 Relegation to the National League
20 Wikki Tourists (R) 38 9 13 16 36 48 −12 40
Close
Source: NPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. [a]
    Kano Pillars were deducted 3 points and 3 goals due to match violence.[15]
  2. [b]
    Kwara United were deducted 3 points and 3 goals due to match violence.[16]
  3. [c]
    El-Kanemi Warriors qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup as the 2026 Nigeria Federation Cup winners

Results

More information Home \ Away, ABW ...
Home \ Away ABW BAR BAY BEN ELK ENU ENY IKR KAN KAT KUN KWA NAS NIG PLA REM RIV 3SC WWV WIK
Abia Warriors 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–1
Barau 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 3–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 4–1 0–1 0–1 0–0
Bayelsa United 2–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 4–1 1–1 1–2 4–0 1–2 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–1
Bendel Insurance 1–0 0–0 1–1 3–2 1–1 2–0 4–0 3–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–0
El-Kanemi Warriors 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–0 0–0 3–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 w/o[a] 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 2–1
Enugu Rangers 2–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 4–1 0–0 1–0 4–2 2–0
Enyimba 2–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 3–0 2–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–2 0–1
Ikorodu City 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 4–3 3–1
Kano Pillars 0–1 1–0 0–0 4–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1
Katsina United 2–0 1–1 3–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 3–2 4–1 1–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 1–0
Kun Khalifat 0–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–2 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–2 0–1 2–0 3–0 3–1
Kwara United 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0
Nasarawa United 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 4–1 1–0 3–0 1–0
Niger Tornadoes 1–2 2–0 1–0 2–2 3–0 0–0 2–0 4–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 4–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–0
Plateau United 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–1 4–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–2 4–1 1–0 1–0
Remo Stars 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–3 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 3–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0
Rivers United 3–0 1–0 1–2 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–0 4–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 1–0
Shooting Stars 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 3–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 4–2 3–2
Warri Wolves 2–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 2–2
Wikki Tourists 1–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 0–0 2–0 4–4 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–3 2–0 0–1
Close
Source: NPFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
  1. [a]
    The match between El-Kanemi Warriors and Kun Khalifat was awarded as a 3–0 win for El-Kanemi Warriors by the league body after Kun Khalifat failed to show up for the game.[17]

Positions by round

To preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for round 7, but then played between rounds 8 and 9, it will be added to the standings for round 8.

More information Team ╲ Round, Abia Warriors ...
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
Abia Warriors211141111442322244654322234555554656444677
Barau9191720201819201818191817191819191717151415151314121310129111211910898
Bayelsa United313812131411131612131010111410131517131313161515171416131514161719191919
Bendel Insurance20171614151517191919181919181715151098688866667777777565
El-Kanemi Warriors137136107127811149131516171611101191098898881010121111131318
Enugu Rangers14181117171757121213575846566545342222212121111
Enyimba107911223810781114101389812121212121314141517151615151313111511
Ikorodu City11121371011129553312123433353411135343333344
Kano Pillars1513181616191617202020202020202020201818191918191717161715161416141512141015
Katsina United16859461161171010138911111310910111111119791111889108989
Kun Khalifat1215191518202018141415171817161818192020202020202020181918201920202018171412
Kwara United131610121371314101189121214101381214161719171819202019182018181615161116
Nasarawa United17101252111111121212245422234343434566756
Niger Tornadoes4961035884357564657579777910121313141311131214151814
Plateau United18202018191618151715161516161917161819191818161412131012101299889101210
Remo Stars7416814101315171716151113912151613151617181918191820191817171916181617
Rivers United86825334996433331111111123411121212222
Shooting Stars1914151914865269111415577674766677876565655433
Warri Wolves5243712910644689789121311810910101111119101213101417121713
Wikki Tourists65249915161613141267121214141416171414151616151614171719191820202020
Close
Leader
Qualification for the Champions League
Qualification for the Confederation Cup
Relegation to Nigeria National League
Source: World Football

Season statistics

Scoring

Top scorers

As of 24 May 2026
More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Nigeria Jonathan Mairiga Wikki Tourists 14
Nigeria Victor Mbaoma Remo Stars
Nigeria Godwin Obaje Enugu Rangers
4 Nigeria Joseph Arumala Ikorodu City 12
Nigeria Uche Collins Katsina United
6 Nigeria Chukwuemeka Obioma Abia Warriors 11
Nigeria Michael Chidera Enyimba
8 Nigeria Daddy Abdulrahman El-Kanemi Warriors 10
Nigeria Evwierhurhoma Igbunu Warri Wolves
Nigeria Alex Oweilayefa Bendel Insurance
Close

Hat-tricks

As of 29 March 2026
More information Player, For ...
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Abdulaziz Dalhatu Niger Tornadoes Plateau United 4–0 (H)[18] 19 October 2025
Uche Collins Katsina United Wikki Tourists 4–4 (A)[19] 8 February 2026
Alex Oweilayefa Bendel Insurance Ikorodu City 4–0 (H)[20] 1 March 2026
Evwierhurhoma Igbunu Warri Wolves Ikorodu City 3–4 (A)[21] 29 March 2026
Close

Top Assisters

As of 24 May 2026
More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Nigeria Ayobami Junior Shooting Stars 13
2 Nigeria Kazeem Adeyanju Plateau United 7
3 Nigeria Chibueze Oputa Enugu Rangers 6
Nigeria Hadi Haruna Remo Stars
5 Nigeria Mubarak Sani Katsina United 5
Nigeria Shehu Dabai Niger Tornadoes
7 Nigeria Kabiru Tijani Shooting Stars 4
Nigeria Bala Imamu Wikki Tourists
Nigeria Ahmed Musa Kano Pillars
Nigeria Rabiu Ali
Close

Top Cleansheets

As of 24 May 2026
More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player Club Cleansheets
1 Nigeria Michael Atata Ikorodu City 16
2 Nigeria Lucky Jimoh Enugu Rangers 15
3 Nigeria Osagie Onisodumeya Rivers United 14
4 Nigeria Ifeanyi Emmanuel Niger Tornadoes 13
5 Nigeria Okiemute Odah Abia Warriors 12
Nigeria Abuchi Okeke Kano Pillars
7 Nigeria Kelvin Ogunga Enyimba 11
Nigeria Godwill Utum Wikki Tourists
Nigeria Abdullahi Zalli Katsina United
10 Nigeria Vincent Edafe Warri Wolves 10
Close

See also

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks