Abia Warriors drew 2-2 with Doma United on Sunday 8 November 2026, and it was not enough to lift them off 19th place in our recalculated NPFL table. They have 11 points from 12 matches.
Winless in six. The last victory was a 3-0 home win over Bendel Insurance on 27 September 2026.
Imama Amapakabo, back in the dugout since July, is working with a squad whose home games are staged in Aba while the ground in Umuahia is renovated.
Abia Warriors at a glance
| Club | Abia Warriors, based in Umuahia, Abia State |
| Coach | Imama Amapakabo, technical adviser, reinstated on 23 July 2026 |
| Owner | Abia State Government |
| Home ground 2026/27 | Enyimba International Stadium, Aba, while Umuahia Township Stadium is renovated |
| League position | 19th, 11 points from 12 matches, 0.92 per match (GoalBall table, 8 November 2026) |
| Record | Won 2, drawn 5, lost 5, goals 12 for and 19 against |
| Player salaries | Individual figures not public; league minimum of ₦2m a month from 2026/27 |
Twelve matches, two very different teams
Seven points at home. Four away.
The Warriors have lost only once in six home matches, to Niger Tornadoes on 25 October 2026. They drew four. Modest, but it beats the road. Away from home they have won once, 2-0 at Sporting Lagos on 20 September, and lost four of six, shipping 14 goals in the process. Ranchers Bees (4-0) and Shooting Stars (4-1) did most of that damage.
| Round | Date | Result | Venue | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 Aug | Abia Warriors 0-0 Kun Khalifat | Home | Draw |
| 2 | 7 Sep | Ranchers Bees 4-0 Abia Warriors | Away | Defeat |
| 3 | 13 Sep | Abia Warriors 2-2 Ikorodu City | Home | Draw |
| 4 | 20 Sep | Sporting Lagos 0-2 Abia Warriors | Away | Win |
| 5 | 23 Sep | Barau 2-0 Abia Warriors | Away | Defeat |
| 6 | 27 Sep | Abia Warriors 3-0 Bendel Insurance | Home | Win |
| 7 | 4 Oct | Enugu Rangers 3-1 Abia Warriors | Away | Defeat |
| 8 | 11 Oct | Abia Warriors 0-0 Rivers United | Home | Draw |
| 9 | 17 Oct | Kwara United 1-1 Abia Warriors | Away | Draw |
| 10 | 25 Oct | Abia Warriors 0-1 Niger Tornadoes | Home | Defeat |
| 11 | 1 Nov | Shooting Stars 4-1 Abia Warriors | Away | Defeat |
| 12 | 8 Nov | Abia Warriors 2-2 Doma United | Home | Draw |
Over their last five, from 11 October to 8 November, the form reads D D L L D.
Three draws, two defeats. Four goals scored, eight conceded. Add the 3-1 defeat at Enugu Rangers on 4 October and the winless run is six matches, 3 points from 18.
Tight at the bottom. Enyimba also have 11 points, with a better goal difference. Kwara United and Ranchers Bees sit one point ahead on 12, and Ranchers have a match in hand. Only Inter Lagos, on 6 points, look properly adrift. Every figure here comes from our own recalculation, which counts the Enugu Rangers win over Nasarawa United of 17 and 18 September that Sportmonks still ignores, as in our Enugu Rangers club profile.
Coach, squad and the summer
Amapakabo has had an unusual year. In May 2026 the club suspended him and Bethel Oji from all activities over alleged insubordination in an FA Cup semi-final and a home league defeat, and former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu took temporary charge. The letter carried chairman John Obuh's signature. By 23 July 2026 the club had reinstated Amapakabo as technical adviser for the new campaign.
After the Tornadoes loss he was blunt. “I'm disappointed with the way we played which also explained why we deserved to lose the game,” he said.
The Sportmonks squad list for 2026/27 runs to 38 names: four goalkeepers, nine defenders, 11 midfielders and 14 forwards. Of those with a birth date listed, the youngest is forward Daniel Eni, 19, and the oldest is defender Andrew Abalaogu, 34. We could not find a verified list of the club's arrivals and departures this summer, so we name none.
Players' salary: what is public
No individual Abia Warriors salary has been published, and we will not put a number on anyone.
What exists is a league-wide floor. The National Sports Commission and the Nigeria Football Federation approved in June 2026 a minimum of ₦2 million a month for every registered NPFL player from the 2026/27 season, a reform we also touch on in our piece on the highest paid NPFL coach. Whether the Warriors pay that sum has not been reported.
A floor, then.
The club is owned by the Abia State Government, so the wage bill rests on state funding, and Barau forward Joseph Atule has argued that government-owned clubs are the ones best placed to meet the proposal provided government releases the money. History gives pause. BusinessDay reported in May 2025 that Abia Warriors owed more than ₦15 million to former players under NFF arbitration rulings, and we found no later report that the debts were settled.
Stadium: Aba for the season
Umuahia Township Stadium, listed at 5,000 capacity, is under renovation. “Our original home ground in Umuahia is undergoing renovation,” chairman Obuh said when the club confirmed its move in August 2026.
Home matches this season are played at Enyimba International Stadium in Aba, the venue for the Niger Tornadoes defeat. The NPFL had already ruled Umuahia unfit for league fixtures last season, when the Warriors finished seventh. Only one of the six home matches has been lost. Four were draws.
The club reached the top flight in 2013 and has carried earlier names including NEPA FC and OUK Football Club. Our NPFL clubs and stadiums guide lists the grounds across the league.
This article was most recently revised and updated 38 seconds ago
