NPFL pre-season tournament to sharpen CAF preparations for Nigerian clubs

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) have organised a pre-season tournament in Jos to help the country’s representatives prepare for their upcoming CAF club competitions.

NPFL Chief Operating Officer Prince Davidson Owumi said the competition was designed to give the clubs valuable match conditioning before the new league season begins.

Speaking to the media after Tuesday’s fixture draw, Owumi explained that the NFF and the NPFL had agreed to create the tournament as a practical extension of the clubs’ individual preparations.

“Considering that our season would be commencing a few days to the CAF Club matches, the NFF and NPFL resolved that it would benefit the clubs to have their players participate in a competitive tournament to further deepen their fitness and cohesion”, Owumi explained.

League champions Rangers International, runners-up Rivers United and Federation Cup winners El-Kanemi Warriors are among the teams taking part in the event in Plateau State.

The competition also includes two wild-card entries from the host state, Plateau United and Mighty Jets. Katsina United were called up late to replace Shooting Stars.

Owumi said the fixture schedule had been structured to ensure that the clubs competing in continental football would receive sufficient competitive preparation, with each team guaranteed four matches from the round-robin stage through to the final.

“We acknowledge the support of the NFF in securing the buy-in of the Plateau State Government to host the tournament, and it is our expectations to see the clubs and their players take advantage of the platform to fine-tune their match preparations and plans going into the competition”, declared Owumi.

Rivers United, Plateau United, El-Kanemi Warriors and Mighty Jets were involved on the opening matchday on Wednesday.

The second round of fixtures is scheduled for Thursday, when El-Kanemi Warriors will face Katsina United and Rangers International will meet Rivers United.

The final will be played on Sunday, 23 August. Every match in the tournament is being staged at the New Jos Township Stadium.

The event comes as Nigerian clubs prepare for their CAF assignments, with the organisers aiming to give the teams a stronger competitive base before the continental matches begin. The timing is particularly important because the NPFL season is due to start only a few days before the CAF club fixtures.

The tournament therefore gives the participating players an opportunity to improve their fitness and build understanding in competitive matches, while allowing the clubs to refine their tactical plans ahead of their international commitments.

The source article was published by BSN Sports. Award-winning journalist Niyi Busari, publisher and chief executive officer of BSN Sports Concepts, is described as one of the most prominent Nigerian sports journalists of his generation.

A crossover professional, Busari works across print and electronic journalism, combining the skills of both forms of media, although print journalism remains his area of specialisation.

He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Abuja in 2015.