Club News

NNL/PROSTAR December 2024 Awards: Ebrima, Ejeh Others Shine

The Nigeria National League (NNL) and PROSTAR have announced the winners of their monthly awards for December, 2024.

Utum Godswill Solomon, of Wikki Tourists Football Club of Bauchi Football Club took home the Best Goalkeeper award, the goal tender who is 7.1 feet in cm having kept a clean slate in four matches.

Ebrima Manneh of Sporting Supreme Football Club of Abuja was the standout player, winning both the Highest Goal Scorer and Most Valuable Player awards. The sixteen year old Ebrima nicknamed “Val” scored four goals in four matches and was named Man of the Match (MOT) in two games.

Forty five year old Coach Okechukwu Ejeh(Aka Mourinho) of Abia Comets Football Club was named Best Coach after remaining unbeaten in four games, including two away victories.

Smart City Football Club of Lagos(Ultimate good Faith), was awarded the Best Behave Team, having received no cautions throughout the month.

Momoh Camara of the Nasarawa State Referees Council was recognized as the Best Referee of the month, sponsored by the NNL live streaming partners SPORTS LIGHT HUB

These awards are in recognition of outstanding performances, in the efforts of the NNL and PROSTAR commitment in promoting excellence in Nigerian football.

The awardees are the first set of recipients of the newly introduced NNL / PROSTAR monthly award for the 2024 /2025 season.

The awards will be presented to the recipients on Wednesday 22 January, 2025 at the NNL Secretariat, Glass House Wuse Zone 7 Abuja by 11 am

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Izuchukwu Signs the dotted lines for Heartland FC

Izuchukwu Mario Anyaghara just signed the dotted lines for Heartland FC of Owerri in the Nigerian Professional Football League., This was made known by the Club Media in Owerri today.,
Izuchukwu Mario Anyaghara signed for the remainder of the season for the club.
” ’ new home is Owerri. Welcome our New Number ,” reads a message on the club’s official Facebook page welcoming the new players
The player is vastly experienced, having played for some of the best clubs in the Nigeria.
The striker also once had a stint in Germany.
He is expected to make his debut for Heartland in their opening game,

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FRANKLYN MADUAKOR JOINS HEARTLAND FC

Nigeria Premier Football League Side Heartland FC of Owerri have announced the signing of winger, Franklyn Maduabuchukwu Maduakor from Aeson FC.

Franklyn Maduabuchukwu Maduakor signed a One year contract with the Club.

” ’ new home is Owerri. Welcome our New Number ,” reads a message on the club’s official Facebook page

The player is vastly experienced, having played for some of the best clubs in the Nigeria.

The pacy winger also once had a stint in Armenia. He is expected to make his debut for Heartland in their next game

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League Kickoff extended

The board of Nigeria National League has announced the postponement of the kick off date of the 2023/2024 league season to a yet to be announced date.

The league originally planned to kick off on Saturday 28 October but has been compelled according to now postponed the commencement to enable clubs conclude registration for the new season.

The NNL board in arriving at the decision took into cognizance the inability of teams to meet up with the Wednesday 25, October registration deadline because of the economic situation facing the country.

Chairman of the NNL board George Aluo speaking to NNL media said ” We regret to announce that the 2023/2024 league season originally planned to kick off this Saturday at the Uyo Township Stadium, Akwa Ibom state has been postponed to a new date which will be communicated to teams once clubs finish formalization of registration process”

The Chairman hinted further that with the latest development, clubs are now advised to ensure they conclude their registration on November 3, 2023 ,noting that once registration is concluded, the board of NNL will announce a new date for the commencement of the league.

He declared that the teams however, have been warned that failure to meet up with the new registration date means non participation in the league. Top of Form

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Coaches on cloud nine after refresher course

Coaches who participated in the just concluded Nigeria National League (NNL) refresher course are still counting their blessings for being part of the course even as they have commended the board of the second tier league led by George Aluo for their foresight in repositioning the league through training and retraining of coaches.

NNL in conjunction with the National Institute For Sports (NIS) organised a three day refresher course for all the 40 club coaches in the league aimed at upgrading them in modern football coaching techniques.

In separate interviews during the seminar coaches of El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, Aliu Zubair, Adamawa United, Usman Adams and that of Stationery Stores of Lagos, Bob Osim all agreed that they learnt a lot from the course anchored by eminent resource persons including; Technical Director of NFF, Austin Eguavoen, former Super Eagles players; Peter Rufai and Clement Temile, NIS lecturer, Kuhwa Iorsue Jeremiah and UEFA licensed coach, Portuguese Thiago Conde noting that the impact of what they were taught will be seen when the 2023/2024 league season kicks off on October, 28

According to them George Aluo led board of NNL deserves commendation for the initiative which is the first in the history of the second tier league just as they expressed hope that it will be sustained.

” We must commend the NNL board led by George Aluo for coming up with this wonderful idea of preparing coaches adequately before the commencement of the league which is the first of it’s kind in the history of the NNL.

“For us, this is a new dawn and it has not happened before in the history of the NNL. It takes the courage of a visionary leader to organise this type of seminar which has enriched the coache’s knowledge as they prepare for the new season.

” It is also important to state that we learnt a lot from the resource persons and hopefully we are going to impact the knowledge to our players which will lead to a better league”, they chorused.

The coaches were of the opinion that with regular seminars, the country’s football will improve greatly even as they charged other leagues to emulate the NNL and organize refresher courses for their coaches.

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Clubs asked to Affirm Their Position in the League

The Nigeria National league (NNL) says clubs wishing to be part of the 2023/2024 season have till Monday 16 October ,2023 to confirm their willingness to participate in the new season.

The new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the league Dr. Ayo Abdulrahaman who frowned at the slow pace of response from the clubs said the forty clubs must meet up with the five provisions stipulated in circular number 265 sent to them by the secretariat before Saturday 28 of October which is kick off date for the new season.

“We have listed five major criteria of legibility for the clubs to be part of the league and this they must ensure they comply with “

First he said is the issue of club licensing and regulations requirements, we should be done with it now, these clubs must face this task and help push us forward “

The players, official and clubs registration for the season is something we want to devote time with and if the clubs are not playing their part, it will slow us down, we must avoid this to move forward”

The NNL also listed financial, medical, infrastructure, legal and administrative requirements to be met by the clubs for participation.

Clubs must do the needful by liaising with the secretariat promptly at all times, he ended

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Board Allays Fears Over Diphtheria Disease In Kano

The Nigeria National League (NNL), has dismissed as spurious news of the spread of Diphtheria disease in Kano, venue of it’s eight-team relegation play off which kicks off this weekend.

Shortly after the government of Kano State graciously gave the nod to host the NNL relegation play off at the Sani Abacha Stadium, unconfirmed reports made the rounds that the disease has engulfed the entire Kano State.

NNL Chairman George Aluo said the news is false noting that he personally made effort to confirm the safety of hosting the play off in Kano and that his inquiries from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has shown that Kano is safe.

“We are in touch with the NCDC to get the right information on the situation and there is no such censor that we should not go to Kano.”

“We even kept touch with the Police Commissioner in Kano CP Mohammed Usani Gumel and we were assured of our security and safety.”

“Our advanced party led by NNL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Emmanuel Adesanya who is working with the Local organizing committee for the success of the play off are on ground and have also allayed any sort of fears.”

“No state of health emergency has been declared about Kano and it is only normal we place the facts on the table. The NNL relegation playoff will go on as scheduled. We have put logistics in place and thanks again to His Excellency, the governor of Kano State Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf for investing in the NNL.”

The eight teams billed to feature in the play off will arrive the ancient city of Kano Saturday 5th of August ahead of the draw which holds on Sunday 6th with the games starting the next day Monday 7th.

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MatchRoom Sports and Media Development Agency Appointed as Brand Consultant

Leading Sports Public Relations (PR) and brand development Agency, Match Room Sports and Media, has been appointed as strategic Brand Consultant by the Nigeria National League (NNL)

MatchRoom Sports and Media Development Agency will deliver strategic consultancy as the NNL seeks to boost its brand profile amongst key stakeholders across the country.

Speaking on the development, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the NNL, Mr. Emmanuel Attah said: “Since the NNL board was constituted by the Nigeria Football Federation, we have been looking for partners to take the league to the next phase.

MatchRoom Sports and Media was identified as a key player to enhance our brand and we are satisfied with their approach so far”.

Reacting, Managing Director/CEO of MatchRoom, Ojeikere Aikhoje said: “This is an exciting partnership for us because MatchRoom provides strategic and creative thinking to help clients unlock the potential of their brands.

“We will sharpen the brand’s proposition, discover opportunities for the brand and make it meaningful to those that matter most.

“Our desire is to ensure the NNL inspires Nigerians and make a positive impact on society.”

The NNL hopes the appointment of MatcRoom Consults as brand consultant will further enhance the fortunes of the most important league in Nigeria.

MatchRoom Sports and Media Development Agency Appointed as Brand Consultant Read More »

Relegation playoff set to begin in kano

Eight teams are set to avoid the drop with the thrill of remaining in the Nigeria National League (NNL) .

Adamawa United, Abubakar Bukola Saraki(ABS) of Ilorin, Kwara State, Edel of Awka,Anambra State, FWC-Champions of Abuja, Henserd of Yenagoa, Bayelsa state; Ikorodu City(Lagos), Smart City (Lagos) and Sokoto United, second to the bottom after regular periods in the 2022/2023 season will compete for survival in the most important domestic football in Nigeria.

The Relegation Play offs offers a lifeline to the eight teams in each of the eight abridged divisions both in the Northern and Southern Conferences of the NNL.

It will be the most competitive survival battle of the season in NNL.

The battle ground is the 16,000 capacity Sani Abacha stadium, located inside the city, Festival road, Kofar Mata area of Kano, Nigeria’s commerce centre.

The stadium named after former Nigeria military ruler (Head of state) Late General Sani Abacha, is the home ground of Nigeria Premier league football outfit, Kano Pillars who just returned to the elite division after gaining promotion in the NNL Super 8 Play-Offs held at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta state last month.

The Sani Abacha stadium, now with artificial turf opened in 1998 has hosted Africa Cup of nation’s matches and the FIFA U-17 games.

The eight teams are expected to arrive the Groundnut Pyramid City of Kano on or before Friday 5th, August, 2023 with the draw scheduled to hold the next day .

Hostilities will begin on Monday 7th.
Four games will hold each of the three playing days, making a total of twelve matches in the relegation play offs.

The relegation play is crucial to enable the Nigeria National league conclude the number of twelve (12) teams to be dropped to the 3rd tier Nigeria domestic football league, the Nation-Wide (NLO).

The already relegated clubs are :
1.FC Ebedei-Shagamu (Ogun)
2.Go-Round, Omoku (Rivers)
3.Green Berets, Zaria (Kaduna)
4.Ibom Youths, Ikot-Ekpene (Akwa-Ibom)
5.Joy Comeths (Lagos)
6.Kogi United, Lokoja
7.Police Machine FHQ (Gombe), and
8.Zamfara United.

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