Two years and two seasons into league football, Sporting Lagos FC will be playing in the topflight league in Nigeria. The team gained promotion after picking two wins and 6 points in the NNL Super 8 playoffs.
The club will become the 70th different team to feature in the NPFL since its inception in 1990.
Sporting Lagos Origin Story
Chairman of Sporting Lagos, Godwin Enakhena, shares the story of the meeting that started the journey of the club.
“Sports journalist Colin Udoh called me one blessed day in 2021, asking if I could help a friend of his set up a football club. My questions were, who is he? What does he do for a living? How serious is he about this project?”
16 months after the discussion on the modalities, Sporting Lagos got a slot in the Nigeria national league.
“I birthed Sporting Lagos in Ilaji, a quiet resort on the outskirts of Ibadan, Oyo state.
Exactly 16 months after Sporting Lagos played its first game in the Nigeria National League, the club met one of its targets by qualifying to play in the Nigeria Premier League.”
The new club barely survived relegation in their first season, escaping by a goals difference on the last day.
A difference of minus two goals after scoring 22 and conceding 24 goals in 24 matches of the 2021/22 season.
The coach of the team, Paul Offor, believes the team set a higher target for themselves, and they have to put in the work to achieve the target.
Meanwhile, coach Offor will be leading a team to the NPFL after being part of the coaching crew (Asistant coach) that qualified Warri Wolves three seasons ago.
Furthermore, club chairman, Godwin Enakhena is also promoting a team to the NPFL after doing same for MFM FC.