Clubs in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) will pause league action to accommodate fixtures in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Federation Cup this weekend.
The league’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Davidson Owumi, explained that the break was part of a pre-planned schedule introduced at the beginning of the season to avoid the disruptions that affected previous campaigns.
“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 calendar as designed,” Owumi told NPFL Media.
According to the revised schedule, Matchday 36 and 37 fixtures will now take place on May 3 and May 10 respectively.
Another Federation Cup window has also been set aside for May 16 and 17.
Owumi added that the final matches of the NPFL season will be played on May 24, as earlier outlined during the season’s fixture draw.
“We have been intentional to maintain fixture fidelity and it took a lot of planning and cooperation from the clubs to achieve this,” he said.
The structured calendar reflects a coordinated effort between the NPFL and the NFF to ensure smoother competition management across domestic tournaments.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey 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.
