NPFL Sets May 24 Season Finale Date
Last update: April 23, 2026
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NPFL confirms May 24 as official end date for the 2025/2026 season...
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has confirmed May 24 as the concluding date for the 2025/2026 season, with the league insisting that the campaign remains on track despite minor adjustments made to accommodate domestic cup competitions.
CBI News reports that NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi, explained that the season calendar was jointly developed with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Competitions Department before kickoff.
According to him, the schedule was carefully structured with planned breaks to ensure the smooth running of the President Federation Cup without disrupting league fixtures.
“We synergised with the NFF Competitions Department at the start of the season to create windows for the Federation Cup. It has been in effect since January and we are running our calender as designed,” Owumi said in a statement released by the league body.
Under the revised arrangement, Matchday 36 fixtures will be played on May 3, while Matchday 37 is scheduled for May 10.
The league will then pause again on May 16 and 17 to accommodate the Federation Cup window before the final round of matches on May 24 brings the season to a close.
Owumi emphasised that maintaining the fixture schedule has required strong collaboration between the league and participating clubs.
“We have been intentional to maintain fixture fidelity and it took a lot of planning and cooperation from the clubs to achieve this,” he added.
The announcement comes as the league takes a short break while clubs compete in the state-level phase of the Federation Cup across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Successful teams will later advance to the national stage, where NPFL and Nigeria National League sides will join the competition.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has also warned that clubs failing to honour their Federation Cup obligations will face sanctions.
In related developments, Ranchers Bees have secured promotion back to the NPFL after topping NNL Conference D.
The Kaduna-based club earned the lone promotion spot despite a 2-0 defeat to Gombe United, as rivals Jigawa Golden Stars suffered a 3-0 loss to Kebbi United.
Their return marks a comeback to top-flight football for the first time since their relegation at the end of the 2009/2010 season.
Ranchers Bees will join Sporting Lagos, Inter Lagos, and Doma United in the NPFL ahead of the 2026/2027 season.
The four promoted sides will also compete in the NNL Super Four tournament scheduled for May in Ikenne, where the overall NNL champions will be decided.
