Breaking: NPFL Takes Two-Week Break, Teams Turn Attention To Federation Cup

The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has been put on hold for two weeks to enable clubs participate in the ongoing state preliminaries of the President Federation Cup.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The break is designed to allow teams fulfil their domestic cup obligations, with league matches expected to resume after the conclusion of the state-level fixtures.

Games are currently being played across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as clubs compete for spots in the national stage of the tournament. The preliminaries, which began in March, will wrap up with finals on April 26 to determine the teams advancing.

According to the updated league schedule, matchday 36 will now be held on May 3, while matchday 37 is set for May 10 as the season approaches its final phase.

The adjustment follows earlier instructions from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which mandated full compliance with Federation Cup fixtures.

The NFF also warned that any club that fails to honour its matches at the national preliminary stage will be fined ₦1 million, while teams that withdraw after registering at the state level could face a ₦500,000 penalty.

As Nigeria’s oldest football competition, the Federation Cup allows broad participation starting from the state level, giving grassroots teams the opportunity to compete alongside top-tier clubs. Each state produces two representatives—the winner and runner-up—resulting in a 74-team lineup for the national stage.

At the national level, lower-ranked teams will first compete in preliminary play-offs before joining seeded NPFL and Nigeria National League sides in the round of 64.

From there, the competition proceeds in a straight knockout format, mostly played at neutral venues, with tied matches decided via penalty shootouts to maintain the schedule.

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