I was in search of a comprehensive list of football clubs in Nigeria on the internet to buttress a point I was trying to make on another article, but none of the results Google search returned gave me what I wanted.
What did I do?
I knew if I was finding it difficult to get a list of Nigerian football teams then someone else could just be experiencing the same thing!
So I dug more into researching, made a couple of calls and came up with my own complete list of football clubs in Nigeria.
See the Nigerian football teams I came up with below:
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Names of Football Clubs in Nigeria
- Abia Comets
- Abia Warriors F.C.
- Abiola Babes
- ABS F.C.
- Abuja F.C.
- ACB Lagos
- Adamawa United F.C.
- Akpor United F.C.
- Akwa Starlets FC
- Akwa United F.C.
- Anambra Pillars F.C.
- Anambra United F.C.
- Apa United FC
- Babanawa F.C.
- Bayelsa United F.C.
- BCC Lions
- Bendel Insurance F.C.
- Bridge Boys F.C.
- Bussdor United F.C.
- bravos knights F.C
- C.O.D United football club of Lagos
- Calabar Rovers
- Crown F.C.
- Cynosure FC of Ebonyi state
- Dalhatu United
- DSS FC
- DaltaForce fc
- El-Kanemi Warriors
- Enugu Rangers
- Enyimba International F.C.
- Esan F.C.
- First Bank F.C.
- Fountain FC
- Gateway United F.C.
- Giwa FC
- Go Round F.C.
- Gombe United F.C.
- Heartland F.C.
- Ifeanyi Ubah F.C
- Ikorodu United F.C.
- Ilesa Dynamos F.C.
- FC Inter Enugu
- Jasper United
- Jigawa Golden Stars F.C.
- JUTH F.C.
- Kada City F.C.
- Kaduna United F.C.
- Kano Pillars F.C.
- Kogi United
- Kwara United F.C.
- Knights F.C. Ife
- Leventis United
- Lobi Stars F.C.
- MFM FC
- Mighty Jets F.C.
- My People FC
- MILARS F.C
- NAF Rockets F.C.
- Nasarawa United F.C.
- Nembe City F.C.
- NEPA Lagos
- New Nigeria Bank F.C.
- Niger Tornadoes F.C.
- NITEL Vasco Da Gama F.C.
- Oasis Football Club
- Ocean Boys F.C.
- Owazi F.C
- Plateau United F.C.
- Prime F.C.
- Racca Rovers
- Ranchers Bees FC
- Remo FC
- Rising Stars F.C.
- Rivers United F.C.
- Sharks F.C.
- Shooting Stars SC
- Sokoto United
- Spotlight F.C.
- Stationery Stores F.C.
- Sunshine Stars F.C.
- Super 11 F.C.
- Taraba F.C.
- TEAP FC
- Udoji United F.C.
- Union Bank F.C.
- Warri Wolves F.C.
- Westside F.C.
- Wikki Tourists F.C.
- Wolonso United F.C.
- Yankari Babes FC
- Zabgai Fc of bauchi
- Zamfara United F.C.
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Although not all the football clubs in Nigeria that I listed above plays in the Nigerian Premier League.
As you’d expect, some of them play in the lower divisions.
Let me give you a breakdown.
Football clubs in Nigeria are divided into 4 different divisions, depending on their performances.
The first one is the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) AKA 1st league.
The second one is the Nigerian National League (NNL) AKA 2nd league.
The third one is the Nigeria Division 1 AKA 3rd League.
The last one is the Nigeria Division 2 AKAK League 4.
Up to 19 different clubs make up the NPL while 16 clubs make up the NNL.
Only 6 clubs are in the Nigeria Division 1 and only 2 teams are in the Nigeria Division 2.
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NPL teams
The Nigeria premier league was founded in 2003 and is managed by the League Management Company (LMC).
Football clubs in Nigeria that make the first three slots in the NNL are fed into the NPL, while the last three clubs on the premier league table are relegated to the NNL.
Lobi Stars are currently champions of the 2017-18 Nigeria Professional Football League season.
Though Enugu Rangers and Enyimba International FC are the two football clubs in Nigeria that have won the NPL title the most times.
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Here are the 19 Nigeria premier league teams:
- Kano Pillars
- Enyimba Aba
- Warri Wolves
- Giwa FC
- Nasarawa United
- Lobi Stars Makurdi
- Abia Warriors
- Enugu Rangers International
- Dolphins Port Harcourt
- Heartland Owerri
- Sunshine Stars Akure
- Taraba FC
- Port Harcourt Sharks
- El-Kanemi Warriors Maiduguri
- Bayelsa United
- Akwa United Uyo
- Gombe United
- Crown FC Ogbomoso
- Kaduna United
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Here are the 16 Nigeria national league teams:
- Abuja FC
- Bendel Insurance
- First bank Lagos
- Gabros International Nnewi
- Gateway United Abeokuta
- Kwara United
- MFM FC Lagos
- Mighty Jets Jos
- Niger Tornadoes Minna
- Plateau United
- Prime FC Oshogbo
- Ranchers Bees Kaduna
- Shooting Stars SC Ibadan
- Stationery Stores Lagos
- UniCem Rovers Calabar
- Wikki Tourists Bauchi
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Here are the 6 clubs in Nigeria Division 1 club:
- Bussdor United Owerri
- City of David United Lagos
- Court of Appeal Abuja
- Dynamite Force Benin City
- FC Ebedei Ijebu Ode
- Rising Star Akure
SEE ALSO: Nigeria Premier League Top Scorer: Complete List (1990 Till Date)
Nigeria Division 2 clubs are just 2 in number
They are highlighted below:
- My People Lagos
- Yerima Strikers
That's it!
Those are the Nigerian football teams. But you can also check out the list of Female Football Clubs In Nigeria that I made.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago