The Nigeria National League (NNL), the country’s second-tier football competition, has introduced a fresh promotion system ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, scrapping the playoff format in favor of automatic qualification for group winners.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the new season will begin on Saturday, November 8, 2025, with an official star match, while the remaining Matchday One fixtures are scheduled for November 14–16 across various centers.
The decisions were confirmed at the NNL’s annual general meeting (AGM) held on Tuesday, where members approved significant structural changes.
“The NNL Annual General Meeting approved Saturday, November 8, 2025, as the kick-off date for the 2025/2026 NNL League season with a star match only. However, other week one league matches are to be played on November 14, 15, and 16, respectively at various venues,” the NFF announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The new structure will see the league contested across four conferences – A, B, C, and D – with the top side from each group gaining direct promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). The traditional Super Eight competition, previously used to determine promotion, has now been abolished.
However, the AGM introduced a new Super Four tournament to determine the overall NNL champion. The four promoted teams will be required to participate, with strict penalties for non-compliance.
“Any of the four clubs that fail to participate in the Super 4 competition shall automatically relinquish their promotion status to the second club on the table of such conference,” the statement emphasized.
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