NPFL: Who are the newly promoted teams?

By Oluwademilade Ogunleye

After three months break, the Nigerian Premier Football League is back for another round of drama, excitement, bragging rights and talent unraveling.

With the presence of familiar names such as Enyimba, Kano Pillars, Shooting Stars,Rangers, Remo Stars, Rivers United amongst others, the League is up and ready to rumble.

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Nineteen teams would be in a quest to dethrone the defending champions, Remo Stars while the Ikenne boys would seek to hold on to the title as they begin their title defence against Rivers United on Friday.

However, just as the saying Soldier goes, soldier comes, the league has been graced with the presence of ‘new boys’ over the years who seek to make their presence known and ultimately, secure their stay in top flight football. As always, this season is not an exception.

The 2024/25 season featured four relegated teams; Heartland FC of Owerri, Akwa United of Uyo, Sunshine Stars of Akure and Lobi Stars of Makurdi.

In their place came four teams who secured promotion from the NPFL with two being total newcomers.

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In this article, we examine the four newly promoted teams and their chances of staying up this season.

Wiki Tourists

Founded in 1992, Wikki Tourists are a professional Football club based in Bauchi, Bauchi State Nigeria.

Their main sponsor is the Bauchi State Government and their home ground is the 11000 capacity Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium.

Their home Colour is all-red and they are coached by Abdul Maikaba who was appointed in July 2024.

They return to the top flight after relegation in 2023 and they secured their promotion by topping Group A in the 2025 Nigerian National League (NNL) Super 8 Playoffs. Wonderboy, Wonderson, scored a first half hattrick in Wikki Tourist’s decisive 4-0 victory over Yobe Desert Stars to ensure their promotion to the NPFL.

They were defeated in the final of the NNL playoffs by Warri Wolves who later went on to win the NNL.

They begin their 2025/2026 NPFL campaign on Sunday, when they will host Plateau United of Jos at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa stadium

Warri Wolves

Warri wolves are another newly promoted side based in Warri, Delta State.

Their home ground is the 20000 capacity Warri township stadium and they were formed in 1998.

They underwent rebranding in 2007 from Nigerian Ports Authority FC and relocated back to Warri after a stint in Lagos. The club is owned by the Delta State Government.

Their home colour is a blue jersey with yellow stripes, blue shorts and blue socks.

Warri Wolves returned to the NPFL by winning Group B of the NNL Super Playoffs. After an initial loss, they secured back to back victories including a 2-1 win over Crown FC to top their group with 6 points.

The side is coached by Napoleon Aluma and the team is best known for its defensive solidity and teamwork.

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Their NPFL kicks off in Katsina where they will face Katsina United on Sunday 24th August 2025.

Kun Khalifat set for NPFL debut

Making their debut in the NPFL, Khun Khalifat FC earned promotion by finishing second in Group B of the NNL Super 8 Playoffs.

Their victories in the NNL included a win over Crown FC and Osun United.

Formed in 2020, they are situated in Owerri, Imo State and share the Dan Anyiam stadium in Owerri with Heartland FC, as their homeground.

Their home colours are Red shirts, red shorts and black socks while Away colours are White shirts, white Shorts and black shoes.

They are coached by Uzoho Obina with the team known for its disciplined and tactical approach with defensive solidity and swift counter attacks.

Their journey as a club started in the Nigerian Nationwide League One (NLO) in 2020 and they achieved promotion to the NNL in 2021 but exchanged their spot with FC one Rocket.

They returned to the NNL in 2024 after winning the NLO playoffs and will now play the NPFL for the first time in their history.

Their first game of the season will be in Enugu when they take on Rangers International in a game that promises to be highly competitive.

Barau Football Club

Another debutant in the league, Barau FC were founded in 2024 and have Ladan Bosso as their head coach.

They are based in Kano State with their home ground being the Maliya stadium, Dambatta, Kano State.

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However, due to ongoing renovations at Maliya stadium to meet NPFL standards, Barau FC would now be using the Sani Abacha Stadium for their home games.

Barau FC achieved promotion to the NPFL for the first time in their history after finishing second in the 2024 NNL Super 8 Playoffs.

They secured their spot in their decisive 2-0 victory over Doma United.

Their playing style is mostly attacking football and they host the People’s Elephants, Enyimba FC, in their first game of the season.

Now that we have been made familiar with the new teams, it’s left to see what the 2025/26 season has in store for them.

Will the newbies pull up a shocker by going all the way to win the league? Or will the story be the same old one of newbies coming to just mark attendance?

There’s only one way to find out!