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To Naija Top League
The Super 8 is organised annually at the end of the league to determine the overall champion of the second-tier League, Nigeria National League, NNL as well as teams that will gain promotion to the elite league.
The eight teams that have already qualified for the championship are Nasarawa Utd, Sporting Supreme of Abuja, Sokoto Utd, and El-Kanemi Warriors.
Others are Beyond Limit FC, Madiba FC, Inter Lagos, and Ikorodu Utd. The board of the NNL recently revealed a new date for the much-expected Super 8 which should have gotten underway from Thursday, May 23, and run to May 30, 2024. The board said the one-week event would now start on June 7 and end on June 14, 2024.
Chairman of the League, Mr. George Aluo, said the shift in date became necessary because of the President Federation Cup round of 32 matches which will be determined that week. “We decided to move the Super 8 forward because the date clashed with the Federation Cup Round of 32 matches and the best thing for us to do is to align our calendar with that of the NFF.”
Aluo noted that the shift in date notwithstanding, all modalities for a successful competition had been put in place, just as he commended the Enugu State Governor, Mr. Peter Mbah, and the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Barrister Lloyd Ekwerenmadu, for accepting to host the championship.
Amongst these teams, four of them can only qualify for the elite league, which is the NPFL, while the remaining four continue in the NNL. City People analyzes the possible four to qualify, based on their previous exploit as well as the financial and player power.
INTER LAGOS
Inter Lagos commonly referred to as The Pride of Lagos, is a Nigerian professional football club based in Lagos, and plays in the Nigeria National League. Inter Lagos home games are played at Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Onikan Stadium, one of Nigeria’s oldest stadiums in Lagos, Inter Lagos is regarded as Sporting Lagos revival in the Lagos State Football Association since its debut in 2023.
The club was founded in 2023 by Lanre Vigo, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu, and Oluwatosin Fashoyin. On 18 November 2023, Inter Lagos made its first debut at the 2023-24 Nigeria National League. The team started well in the league but lost its first few games. On 6 January 2024, it recorded its first home win against Gateway United by 1 goal. In the group stage of the NNL, Inter Lagos climbed to the top of its group.
This Club has surprised many with how they’ve grown within a year and the financial power they possess with good players in the team, they have a great chance of playing in NPFL for the 2024/2025 season.
EL-KANEMI WARRIORS
El-Kanemi Warriors, a football club hailing from Borno, has clinched a highly sought-after position in the Nigeria National League, NNL Super Eight playoffs following an impressive performance in Group C of the competition.
Their journey to qualification was marked by a hard-fought victory over Yobe Desert Stars, securing a lone goal and propelling them to the top of the Group C standings with an impressive 34 points from 16 games.
Having secured their spot, El-Kanemi Warriors now shifts its focus to the Super Eight playoffs, where they aim to compete for the prestigious title of 2024 NNL champions.
Yet, the battle for the final slot from Group C rages on, with Nasarawa United and Wikki Tourists set to contend for the coveted position.
El-Kanemi Warriors joins Sokoto United and Sporting Supreme as the first three teams to secure their place in the championship playoffs.
They have been in the NPFL, unlike the other teams, and have the experience to thrive, they will use that experience to edge others in qualifying for the elite league.
NASARAWA
UNITED FC
The team was founded in 2003 after the Nasarawa government took over Black Stars FC of Gombe. They joined the Nigerian Premier League in 2004–05. Their stadium, Lafia Township Stadium, has a capacity of some 5,000. The club’s nickname is Solid Miners.
The team went through financial shortfalls in the 2008–09 season that one player described as leaving them on the verge of “starvation”. A 1–1 home draw on March 7 against Niger Tornadoes caused home fans to riot and even follow the Tornadoes to the hotel and attack them there.
The team was sent to play in Ibadan for the rest of the season and assured relegation to the Nigeria National League with three games remaining. The resulting debt of 46 million naira (Approx. $300,000) threatened to cancel the team’s 2009–10 season.
Midway through the season, the debt was reportedly 58 million naira ($387,000) and the team missed 16 games due to its precarious financial position. They returned to the field on April 24 after a five-month suspension was lifted with a 1–0 win over Mighty Jets. They were promoted back to the Premier League in 2012 after winning their division.
They’ve got the experience, which is a huge access in determining their fate in returning to the NPFL, and just some days ago, the Deputy Governor of the State, Emmanuel Akabe made a personal donation of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000.00) to support the team’s trip to Enugu ahead of the playoff. He urged the team to make the state proud by picking the NPFL ticket adding that the state government is solidly behind them.
According to the Deputy Governor; “You are going as ambassadors of Nasarawa State as you are carrying the weight of millions of sports enthusiasts, admirers and followers, not only in the State but across the globe.
“Everybody is looking up to you to deliver on the task ahead and I am sure you are equal to the task.
“We are here as a Government to give you all the necessary support, encouragement, appreciation, sense of State pride, and motivational boost as required to make your adventure in Enugu a success.
“On behalf of my principal, the Executive Governor, I congratulate you once again on qualifying for the Super Eight Play-offs because many teams began the process but by divine intervention coupled with your hard work, you have been able to get to this last hurdle of the league,” he said.
SPORTING
SUPREME FC
The General Manager of NNL side Sporting Supreme FC, Mr. Shuaibu Yakubu promised football lovers in the nation’s Capital City that elite league football will return as soon as next season, just weeks back.
“For many years, the hope to have an Abuja-based football club play in the Nigeria top-flight football league was just a mere imagination as no Abuja-based club has gone beyond the Nigerian National League in recent years,” he said. Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Yakubu spoke about the team’s readiness to break the 14-year curse and become the first Abuja-based club to qualify and play in the NPFL.
“The entire team is fully motivated and everyone can see this from the results in the league so far. We flew the team to Sokoto for the game against Kebbi United and the result came. However, His side is ready to break the jinx and ensure fans are treated to the best of football week in and out, he believes that with the financial power the capital clubs have, qualification is just a matter of weeks.
In anticipation of the forthcoming Nigeria National League Super 8 playoff, one of the official sponsors of the League, PRO Star has concluded arrangements to reward all the qualifiers for the tournament.
the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National League, Emmanuel Attah said the organization will give all the qualifying clubs branded balls before the commencement of the tournament.
Attah further revealed that there would be prizes for the Most Valuable Player, highest goalscorer, and best goalkeeper of the tournament.
“The season has been a lot of fun and excitement and the Super 8 will be the climax to what has been a good campaign.”
–Benprince Ezeh
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