NPFL Confirms May 24 Season Finale, Ranchers Bees Confirm Top-flight Return

The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has fixed May 24 as the final day of the 2025-2026 season, with chief operating officer Davidson Owumi insisting the campaign remains firmly on course despite recent fixture tweaks tied to the domestic cup.

Owumi said the calendar was mapped out with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Competitions Department before the season kicked off, with built-in breaks designed to accommodate the President Federation Cup and prevent the disruption that has plagued 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 calender as designed,” Owumi stated in a press release from the league body.

Matchday 36 fixtures are now scheduled for May 3, with matchday 37 set for May 10. Another pause will follow on May 16 and 17 to allow for the Federation Cup window before the final round of matches closes the season on May 24.

Owumi stressed that keeping fixtures intact has required cooperation across the division. “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.

Naija News reports that the confirmation comes during a short league break as clubs compete in the Federation Cup’s state-level stage across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Teams will later progress to the national phase, where NPFL and Nigeria National League sides join the competition.

Naija News reports that the NFF has also outlined sanctions for clubs that fail to honour cup commitments.

Meanwhile, Ranchers Bees have secured promotion back to the top flight after finishing first in NNL Conference D.

The Kaduna side sealed the lone promotion ticket despite a 2-0 away defeat to Gombe United, with rivals Jigawa Golden Stars slipping to a 3-0 loss at Kebbi United.

It marks the Bees’ return to elite football for the first time since their relegation at the end of the 2009-2010 campaign.

They will join Sporting Lagos, Inter Lagos and Doma United in the NPFL ahead of the 2026-2027 season. The quartet will meet in Ikenne in May for the NNL Super Four to decide the overall NNL champions.