Remo Stars NPFL title triumph: First in several years for privately owned and South West teams

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

It is no longer news that Remo Stars Sports Club has won the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title.

The news is the historic feat achieved by the Sky Blue Stars after several years of trials.

They won the title with three games to spare after a 1-0 win over Niger Tornadoes on Sunday.

The triumph made the Ikenne-based side the first privately owned team to win the league title since 2000.

Julius Berger was the last privately owned team to win the NPFL title. That was the team’s second league title after their first title in 1991.

Leventis United (1986) and Stationery Stores (1992) are the other privately owned teams to have won the league title.

Remo Stars also became the first South West team to clinch the title since 2000.

They joined the likes of Julius Berger, Leventis United, Shooting Stars Sports Club, and Stationery Stores.

Only Shooting Stars and Julius Berger have won multiple titles, with the latter winning the trophy in 1991 and 2000.

Shooting Stars have won the most league titles as a South West team winning five titles in 1976, 1980, 1983, 1995, and 1998).

As congratulatory messages continue to flood in for Remo Stars, the next vista is to translate domestic success into continental glory.

In the past three seasons playing in the CAF Confederation Cup and Champions League, the team has not gone past the first hurdle.

The focus now is to attempt to replicate the feat of Shooting Stars and especially Enyimba FC on the continent.