NPFL 2025/26 Kicks Off August 22 with ₦200 Million Prize and Calendar Reforms
By IDNN Sports Bureau
ABUJA, NIGERIA – June 16, 2025
The countdown to Nigeria’s top-flight football fiesta has begun. The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has officially locked in August 22, 2025 as the kickoff date for the 2025/26 season, with the grand finale slated for May 24, 2026. At stake: a record-shattering ₦200 million prize for the champions, underscoring the league’s new era of ambition, structure, and accountability.
Announced during a press briefing at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) headquarters in Abuja, NPFL Board Chairman Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye described the move as a strategic pivot to stabilize Nigeria’s domestic football calendar and align more competitively with continental standards.
“It is my great pleasure and delight to welcome everyone here for a brief review of the highly successful 2024/25 season and to announce the August 22 kickoff for 2025/26,” Elegbeleye declared. “For the first time in 20 years, since the NPFL rebranding in 2005, we are not only announcing a start date but one we fully intend to deliver on.”
Last season’s standout moment was Remo Stars’ historic title triumph, clinched with three games to spare after a commanding Matchday 35 victory over Niger Tornadoes on April 27. The league, which ran from August 31, 2024, to May 25, 2025, has been hailed as a benchmark in competitive balance and operational reform.
📊 Season Recap: Goals, Glory & Growth
Elegbeleye’s review highlighted a surge in player performance and league integrity. Nasarawa United’s Yusuf Anas emerged as top scorer with 18 goals, followed by veteran Rabiu Ali (13 goals) and Anthony Ijoma of Abia Warriors (12 goals). Anas also notched two hat-tricks, while Rangers’ Isaac Saviour and Amadu Liman delivered one each.
Off the pitch, the league board was praised for modernizing operations, enforcing financial discipline, and bolstering club professionalism.
💬 Reform-Driven Leadership
NPFL Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi, in his remarks, emphasized the board’s laser focus on structural stability, noting that the prize money has tripled over three seasons—₦100 million in 2023/24, ₦150 million in 2024/25, and now ₦200 million.
“These reforms didn’t happen overnight. They are the result of steady hands, policy discipline, and collective buy-in,” Owumi stated.
Crucially, Owumi spotlighted player welfare as a transformed priority:
“We used to hear horror stories—players unpaid for six months or even a year. That’s now a thing of the past. With continued commitment, we’re getting to a point where footballers in Nigeria will no longer be an afterthought.”
🧭 What’s Next?
With the season start confirmed, eyes now turn to the upcoming NNL playoffs in July, which will determine the four clubs earning promotion into the NPFL.
The league’s full fixture list and registration guidelines are expected to be released in the coming weeks, alongside enhanced digital broadcasting tools to ensure wider fan engagement.
As the NPFL marches toward its vision of global relevance, 2025/26 could be remembered as the season where Nigerian football finally synced excellence with predictability.
