By Dayo Awoniyi
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has directed that all 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory must hold the final matches of their 2025 President Federation Cup competition on either Saturday, February 22 or Sunday, February 23, 2025.
In a statement sent to secretaries of Football Associations, NFF’s Director of Competitions, Ruth David, stressed the importance of adhering to this schedule.
“Final matches are to be played only on 22nd/23rd, except in special cases and as approved by the NFF,” she stated.
Ruth also made it clear that any failure to comply with the directive would result in a substantial fine.
“Failure to adhere to the above attracts a fine of N1,000,000 (One million naira only),” she warned.
Additionally, the NFF has released the full schedule for the National Play-Off and subsequent rounds of the competition.
The National Play-Off is set for March 5, followed by the National Draw on March 12. The Rounds of 64, 32, and 16 are scheduled for March 19, April 2, and April 16, 2025, respectively.
The quarter-finals will be held on May 3-4, while the semi-finals are scheduled for May 17-18, 2025.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
