NPFL announces opening fixtures for the 2023-24 season

NPFL announces opening fixtures for the 2023-24 season
Credit: Icon Sport

The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) has released its schedule for matchday one of the upcoming campaign.

The 2023–24 NPFL season was originally meant to get underway on August 27 but has since been postponed by two weeks.

A draw was held today in Abuja to help determine the fixtures for the upcoming campaign ahead of its commencement on September 9.

The draw, which was scheduled to begin at 17:00 WAT, got delayed and ended up kicking off over an hour later.

NPFL draws result

NPFL champions Enyimba will kick off their title defence with a home encounter against Bendel Insurance, who won the Nigeria Federation Cup and had the best regular-season record on their return to the top flight.

For the second year in a row, Shooting Stars and Plateau United will lock horns in the opening round of games following a thrilling 3-3 draw between the teams in their 2022–23 curtain-raiser.

Having narrowly missed out on a place in the Championship Round last time out, Akwa United will be hoping to enjoy better luck this time around as they get their league journey started away to Bayelsa United.

Niger Tornadoes and Abia Warriors picked up one win apiece across both meetings between the teams last term and will renew hostilities in the first weekend of the 2023–24 NPFL season.

Remo Stars and Rivers United get the ball rolling against each other after finishing second and third respectively, behind Enyimba in the Championship Round.

Katsina United wasted no time in regaining promotion to the NPFL and will be aiming to make a good start in their first assignment against Kwara United.

Like Katsina United, Kano Pillars also recently booked their ticket back into the top tier of Nigerian football, with a trip to Sunshine Stars awaiting on matchday one.

Lobi Stars, who stunned a lot of people by finishing second in Group B of the regular season last time out, go in search of a winning start this term as they make the trip to Heartland FC.

Despite being founded in 2022, Sporting Lagos have wasted no time ascending to the pinnacle of Nigerian football, and lying in store for their first-ever top-flight involvement is a clash against Gombe United.

Having only just beaten the drop during the last campaign, Enugu Rangers will be keen to avoid another poor start to the season as they play host to Doma United.

2023-24 NPFL matchday one fixtures in full

  • Sporting Lagos vs Gombe United
  • Bayelsa United vs Akwa United
  • Shooting Stars vs Plateau United
  • Abia Warriors vs Niger Tornadoes
  • Enyimba Int'l vs Bendel Insurance
  • Rivers United vs Remo Stars
  • Katsina United vs Kwara United
  • Sunshine Stars vs Kano Pillars
  • Heartland FC vs Lobi Stars
  • Rangers United vs Doma United

This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago

Chandan is a passionate writer, editor, and marketer with a love for football. He has bylines in leading online publications and has worked with renowned sports brands like The Olympics, Fox Sports Asia, and the Indian Super League (ISL). As for the unimpressive part, he loves Chelsea.