By Wale Mustapha
Niger Tornadoes have confirmed that they will play their home matches at the Lafia Township Stadium for the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, after their traditional base, the Bako Kotangora Stadium in Minna, once again failed to meet league requirements.
Despite several rounds of renovation work, the Minna ground has not been cleared to host NPFL games, forcing the Ikon Allah Boys to continue their nomadic run away from home.
The club, however, revealed that their opening fixture against Nasarawa United next Wednesday will be staged at the Rashidi Yekini Stadium in Ilorin, pending further approval.
“Unfortunately, we won’t be starting the season in Minna due to standard requirements by the NPFL, so we are going to play our first home game in Ilorin, just the first match,” Tornadoes’ Team Manager, Usman Alfa, told Nigeriafootball.ng.
“After the first game, if we cannot get approval to play in Minna, we may go to Lafia, Nasarawa State.”
Last season, Tornadoes narrowly avoided relegation, securing their NPFL status only on the final matchday. The club now faces the challenge of rebuilding momentum while playing away from home once again.
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.
