The beauty of the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, lies in its unpredictability. Every new season arrives with its own mysteries.
Can the champions hold on to their crown? Which club will flirt with relegation before pulling off a final-day escape? And just as intriguing, which new names will rise from obscurity, break through the noise, and make their mark on the campaign?
For all the talk about proper structure, refereeing controversies, and some other grotesque scenes, the Nigerian league has always been about the players.
Every year, there’s a handful who rise from the fringes, young graduates of the NNL, late bloomers from the grassroots and academies, new signings who suddenly fit, and become the story of the season.
Last season, it was players like Waliu Ojetoye, Austin Harrison, and Sola Adelani at Ikorodu City FC, along with Anthony Ijoma and Sunday Megwo at Abia Warriors, and a few others whose bursts of form lifted them from unknown figures to rising stars.
This season, the hunt for the next breakout names, NPFL players to watch, begins all over again.
The 2025-26 NPFL season kicked off yesterday with a game that carried the feel of a title clash, given how both teams have presented themselves in recent years. Champions Remo Stars hosted Rivers United at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, Abeokuta, their temporary home while Ikenne undergoes reconstruction.
It was lively from the start, with both sides finding the net inside the opening 10 minutes. Rivers United struck first through Aniekeme Okon in the third minute. Still, Remo Stars wasted no time in responding, Victor Mbaoma — back at the club this summer — pulling the champions level.
The match ended 1-1, but it was far from dull. There was energy, entertainment, and drama expected when two of the league’s leading contenders met on opening day.
At Sports Intel, we’ve looked ahead to the new campaign — the 2025-26 season — and picked out the players who feel primed to take the next step, the stars who could shift from promise to prominence as the season unfolds.
Chindi Gadut (Striker, Abia Warriors)
Few signings this summer sparked as much quiet excitement as Abia Warriors bringing in Chindi Gadut from Edel FC, the NNL’s “Galloping Zebras.”
The numbers already tell a story. for him. Five goals and two assists in just eight league games for Edel, and those weren’t padded stats.
He was decisive, he was ruthless, and he had a knack for popping up when it mattered most. Clubs circled him almost immediately, but the young lad chose Umuahia.
If there were doubts about whether the jump to the top flight might be too soon, Gadut offered an emphatic reply in pre-season: four goals in a Tico Select pre-season tournament, and then another against Kwara United in a pre-season outing.
Abia Warriors’ fans would hope he can be the perfect sidekick for Anthony Ijoma.
Joseph Arumala (Forward, Ikorodu City)
Ikorodu City has spent the last year building a reputation for spotting and trusting young talent. In Joseph Arumala, they may have their next breakout forward.
He scored twice at the Eko Cup, including a strike against Remo Stars during the ValueJet tournament that turned heads.
The raw attributes are there: pace, directness, and a willingness to shoot early. What’s needed is consistency.
With the Oga Boys surviving their first season in the top flight, and not only surviving but finishing fourth, Arumala now carries the weight of responsibility.
Ismail “Yamal Beere” Ayodele (Forward, Shooting Stars)
The nickname tells part of the story. “Yamal Beere,” after Lamine Yamal, Barcelona’s teenage wonderkid, and Beere — the Ibadan neighbourhood that birthed him. It’s a lot to carry, but Ayodele looks unfazed.
At the ValueJet tournament, he announced himself properly, scoring three times and drawing comparisons with players far more established.
For Shooting Stars, whose fan base is famously demanding, his emergence feels timely.
His little show in pre-season might be a small sample, but for the Oluyole Warriors, it is a sign of what might come: a local boy becoming the heartbeat of a club that still sees itself as one of the league’s great institutions.
Wasiu Falolu (Midfielder, Rivers United)
Rivers United have title ambitions again this season, but their biggest signing might not be a marquee NPFL veteran.
Instead, it could be Wasiu Falolu, an engine-room player prised from Crown FC after a campaign in which he scored five goals from midfield in the NNL.
Falolu is no luxury playmaker. He’s a grafter, someone who wins his duels and still has the energy to drive forward. Rivers needed depth in midfield, especially with their CAF Champions League commitments. Falolu offers exactly that, and possibly more.
If Falolu adapts quickly, he could be the hydration that gives their title push enough vitality.
Ganiyu Gberefu (Striker, Rangers International)
Rangers have turned to Osun United’s Ganiyu Gberefu, who finished last season as the NNL’s top scorer with 11 goals.
Two years ago, during their title-winning campaign, Rangers found the net 56 times, but that figure dropped to 42 last season, leaving them 14 goals short and badly missing a reliable finisher.
In Enugu, the pressure will be intense, yet if Gberefu can reproduce even part of the form he showed in the NNL, Rangers may have landed themselves a genuine poacher.
Shammasu Muhammad (Midfielder, Barau FC)
Barau FC’s rise has been one of the quiet subplots in Nigerian football.
They gained promotion at the end of last season in the NNL. For their fans, though, one player has already become indispensable: Shammasu Muhammad.
Last season, he played every single game in the NNL, scoring three goals and covering every blade of grass in midfield.
For a team looking to establish itself properly in the NPFL, his consistency would be priceless.
Jude Ebhohun (Striker, Warri Wolves)
Warri Wolves have always had a knack for producing forwards. Jude Ebhohun might be the next in that line. Eight goals in the NNL last term, and still only scratching the surface of what he can do.
For a Wolves side looking to re-establish themselves in the NPFL, having just gained promotion, Ebhohun could be the difference for them.
Godswill Utum (Goalkeeper, Wikki Tourists)
In a league where defensive lapses are common with goalkeepers. Godswill Utum might change that this season.
Ten clean sheets in the NNL for Wikki Tourists last season made him one of the most reliable shot-stoppers in the division.
More than the numbers, though, was his composure. Utum has the presence of a veteran, commanding his area and organizing the back line in front of him.
Clinton Ezekiel (Goalkeeper, Bayelsa United)
If last season was about learning, this one is about ownership. Clinton Ezekiel, once the back-up at Bayelsa United, is now the first choice and fully expected to deliver.
He proved himself reliable whenever called upon in 2024-25, and his rise has been mirrored at the national level too: already the second-choice goalkeeper for Nigeria’s Flying Eagles.
For Bayelsa United, Ezekiel represents more than a safe pair of hands; he’s a symbol of continuity, trusted to grow into the role, giving the club a long-term spine.
Individually, these players are just names on a list. Promising forwards, hard-working midfielders, and goalkeepers who look calm under pressure. Collectively, though, they represent something else: the possibility of renewal.
The NPFL has long been accused of recycling the same players, with clubs preferring veterans over giving youth a proper chance. But slowly, that tide is turning. More coaches are willing to trust younger players. And the players are realizing that the NPFL can be a launchpad, not a graveyard.
It’s possible that not all names here would live up to expectations. But at least a few will rise, and in doing so, they’ll shape the story of the season.
Hello 2025-26 season, here are the NPFL players to watch. Welcome them.
Additional Reporting by Jargobann
