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Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
The 2026/2027 EuroMatch Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season has officially begun, with Shooting Stars hosting newly promoted Inter Lagos in the opening fixture.
The NPFL season opener kicked off at 4pm on Friday, August 28, at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan. The new campaign marks a major change for Nigerian football following a $7.5 million naming-rights deal with EuroMatch.
The agreement has renamed the competition the EuroMatch Nigeria Premier Football League and increased the champions’ prize money from ₦200 million to a record ₦1 billion.
Shooting Stars start the campaign under new technical adviser Salisu Yusuf, who replaced Nurudeen Aweroro after the coach guided the club to third place and continental qualification last season.
The Oluyole Warriors have struggled in recent season openers, winning just one of their first league matches across the last five campaigns. They will hope their strengthened squad can deliver a better start this time.
Meanwhile, Inter Lagos begin their first top-flight season after earning promotion last term. The Lagos side drew 0-0 with Shooting Stars in a pre-season meeting on August 4 and will look to build on that result.
The remaining NPFL Matchday One fixtures will take place on Sunday, August 30, with all nine matches scheduled for 4pm. The fixtures include Bendel Insurance versus Warri Wolves, Niger Tornadoes against Enyimba and Rivers United versus Plateau United.
The new NPFL season also begins during major changes within Nigerian football administration following the resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and members of the Executive Committee.
The federation has introduced interim measures to maintain continuity while reforms are developed.
Can Shooting Stars make a strong start, or will newly promoted Inter Lagos produce an opening-day surprise?
