Four o'clock on Friday, 28 August, at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan. Shooting Stars kicked off the new NPFL season against newly promoted Inter Lagos, seven months after the league had told the club its ground was unfit. 3SC won 2-1.
| NPFL 2026/27 at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Clubs | 20 |
| Champions 2025/26 | Rangers International (ninth title) |
| Runners-up 2025/26 | Rivers United |
| Promoted | Inter Lagos, Sporting Lagos, Ranchers Bees, Doma United |
| Relegated | Remo Stars, El-Kanemi Warriors, Bayelsa United, Wikki Tourists |
| Season dates | 28 August 2026 to 30 May 2027 (proposed) |
| Matchdays | 38 |
That opener tells you plenty about the npfl clubs and stadiums story this term. Grounds close and reopen. Champions play far from home. Three Lagos sides share one arena.
| Club | Home city | Home ground 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting Stars | Ibadan | Lekan Salami Stadium |
| Ikorodu City | Lagos | Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan |
| Sporting Lagos | Lagos | Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan |
| Inter Lagos | Lagos | Onikan Stadium |
| Rangers International | Enugu | MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta (temporary) |
| Enyimba | Aba | Enyimba International Stadium |
| Abia Warriors | Umuahia | Umuahia Township Stadium |
| Kun Khalifat | Owerri | Dan Anyiam Stadium |
| Rivers United | Port Harcourt | Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium |
| Bendel Insurance | Benin City | Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium |
| Warri Wolves | Warri | Ozoro Stadium |
| Kwara United | Ilorin | Kwara State Stadium |
| Kano Pillars | Kano | Sani Abacha Stadium |
| Barau FC | Kano | Sani Abacha Stadium |
| Katsina United | Katsina | Muhammadu Dikko Stadium |
| Ranchers Bees | Kaduna | Ahmadu Bello Stadium |
| Niger Tornadoes | Minna | Bako Kontagora Stadium |
| Plateau United | Jos | New Jos Stadium |
| Nasarawa United | Lafia | Lafia Township Stadium |
| Doma United | Gombe | Pantami Stadium |
Capacities are left out on purpose. No 2026 league or press source we checked confirms them, so our guide to stadiums in Nigeria listed with capacity covers that side.
South-West: Ibadan, Lagos and an Enugu club in Abeokuta
Back in January the NPFL wrote to Shooting Stars. The letter, signed by chief operating officer Davidson Owumi, stated that “the Lekan Salami Stadium is no longer suitable to host NPFL matches.”
The complaint was the pitch.
Blueprint reported dry, uneven grass at Adamasingba, and the club was told to pick Abeokuta or Onikan instead, yet by late August the ground Daily Trust describes as a N5.5bn remodelled stadium was hosting the curtain-raiser. CAF has not approved it. 3SC take their Confederation Cup games to Abeokuta.
Lagos now has three top-flight clubs. Ikorodu City, Sporting Lagos and debutants Inter Lagos all list Onikan as home. Nobody crosses town for a derby. Inter Lagos president Lanre Vigo set a modest target after promotion: “We are definitely going to bring good football, enjoy the journey, and make sure we survive.”
The oddest address belongs to the champions. Rangers, who sealed their ninth title with a 2-1 win over Ikorodu City at Onikan on the final day in May, opened their defence with a 1-1 draw against Katsina United at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta, their temporary home while the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu is renovated to CAF standards.
South-East: Aba, Umuahia and Owerri
Enyimba stay in Aba.
Abia Warriors stay in Umuahia, where the first weekend was a wet one. Abia Warriors and Kun Khalifat were level at 0-0 when heavy rain left the pitch unplayable in the 73rd minute. The rest was pushed to Monday morning.
Kun Khalifat, of the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, only survived on the final day of 2025/26. Their rain-delayed win over Wikki Tourists sent Remo Stars down. Remo became only the third defending champions relegated, after Shooting Stars in 1999 and Bayelsa United in 2010.
South-South: Port Harcourt, Benin City and Ozoro
Rivers United, runners-up last term, opened with a 2-0 win over Plateau United at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium. CAF did not clear it, though. Their African matches move to the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. Bendel Insurance beat Warri Wolves 2-1 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City. Warri Wolves list the Ozoro Stadium as home.
No Bayelsa side remains, Bayelsa United having gone down after four seasons.
North: Ilorin, Kano and Gombe
Kano has two clubs and one ground. Kano Pillars and Barau FC both use the Sani Abacha Stadium, where Barau beat Nasarawa United 3-1. Kaduna hosted a game that was not its own. Niger Tornadoes' Bako Kontagora Stadium in Minna was still awaiting NPFL inspection after renovation, so their 2-1 win over Enyimba came at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium. Promoted Ranchers Bees list it as home.
Elsewhere, Kwara United drew 2-2 with Kano Pillars in Ilorin, Katsina United play at the Muhammadu Dikko Stadium, Plateau United at the New Jos Stadium, Nasarawa United in Lafia and Doma United at the Pantami Stadium in Gombe, where they beat Sporting Lagos 2-0 on their return.
The north lost two clubs in May.
Wikki Tourists of Bauchi lasted one season back. El-Kanemi Warriors went down after a 3-0 defeat in Aba.
Our NPFL fixtures this week page tracks every venue. For the grounds fans rate highest, see our pick of the best football stadiums in Nigeria.
This article was most recently revised and updated 20 seconds ago
