The 2025/2026 Nigerian Professional Football League season concludes this weekend, marking 36 years since the mission to elevate Nigerian football began. Professional football in Nigeria started in 1990, established by a decree under the Nigerian Football Association but operated by a semi-independent body, the Nigerian Professional Football League. Its original goal was to elevate Nigerian football to the highest global standards.
The Birth of Professional Football
On May 12, 1990, President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida signed the decree to launch professional football in Nigeria. The vision included privately owned clubs within seven to ten years, clubs with their own stadia, highly qualified administrators with business backgrounds, a domestic league competing with European football for live audiences, top-tier playing standards in Africa, elimination of corruption and hooliganism, top referees, sufficient player wages to reduce migration abroad, sustained production of national team players, clubs operating as businesses listed on the stock exchange, and full stadia nationwide.
In 1990, these targets seemed achievable. Within four years, Nigerian players attracted massive interest from European clubs, and migration began. The domestic league produced world-class talents like Etim Esin, Mutiu Adepoju, Victor Ikpeba, and Daniel Amokachi. Nigeria reached the AFCON finals in 1990, won a global trophy in Japan in 1993, won AFCON in Tunisia in 1994, impressed at the 1994 World Cup, and rose to fifth in the FIFA rankings.
Early Success and Decline
The professional league initially benefited from a strong amateur league that produced giants like Rangers International, Raccah Rovers, Mighty Jets FC, Bendel Insurance FC, IICC Shooting Stars, Leventis United, and Abiola Babes. In the early years, multinationals scrambled to sponsor the league, and Nigerian footballers were world-class commodities. However, administration failed to match player quality. By the early 1990s, local clubs filled stadia, reached African club finals, and hosted foreign clubs. Grade A international matches were played in Ibadan, Calabar, Kaduna, and Lagos.
But high personnel turnover and premature exits of experienced administrators for political reasons weakened the vision. By the end of the 1990s, development stalled, and 26 years later, the league remains grounded.
Current State: A Financial Nightmare
The journey from 1990 to 2026 should be studied as a model of how not to run a professional football league. The report card is not sterling; only a few beneficiaries of its failures would disagree. The league is a financial nightmare for those trying to make it profitable and attractive to investors. A few stakeholders cling to hope of a miracle. Present administrators work hard to undo decades of damage, navigating unsolvable challenges. An air of helplessness and hopelessness surrounds the NPFL.
The league needs more than passion and hope. No club has declared financial success in 36 years. The owner of Remo Stars FC, likely the best-run club, noted that winning the league no longer incentivizes participation; the prize cannot fund a single continental match. The league is dangerous for teams traveling by road amid insecurity. Stadia are rarely full, most teams lack their own stadia, and government-owned teams lack business structures. Player wages are among the world's lowest. Clubs produce no players good enough for the national team in recent years. No foreign clubs can play in Nigeria, and the league has no sponsor.
A Brief History from an Insider
I served on the Implementation Committee of Professional Football in Nigeria in 1990. It began as an independent body under the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 1986, led by Minister Emeka Omeruah. The NFA refused to recognize the Professional Football Federation of Nigeria (PFFN). When Omeruah was replaced by Bayo Lawal, three years of tweaking led to the inauguration of a Professional Football Implementation Committee headed by Nathaniel Idowu to resolve differences with the NFA and launch professional football.
The start date was altered several times in 1989. Another setback occurred when Lawal was replaced by Graham Douglas, who had little football interest. Nathaniel Idowu single-handedly funded final documentation by arranging a trip to London with John Ojidoh, POC Achebe, and Remi Asuni. Their work produced the first guidelines for the league. When Douglas was replaced by Anthony Ikhazaboh, the President signed the final decree. A full NFA council meeting in December 1989 ratified the project. Initially 14 clubs were planned, but lobbying led to 16 clubs starting the professional league. Eight of those clubs remain in the current setup.
