With Lagos fans set for a mouth-watering football experience in the 2026/2027 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season, the return of three clubs to the top-tier of Nigerian football may have triggered old football rivalry in the state, writes Femi Ashaolu

For the first time in several decades, Lagos will again genuinely share in the euphoria of the Nigerian Professional football league, like it was in the 1970s and 80s, when the Centre of Excellence was saturated with top clubs showcasing huge fan bases.

In the 1970s and 80s, the likes of Stationery Stores FC, buried by family bickering after the passing of the founder, First Bank FC, Union Bank FC, NEPA FC (National Electric Power Authority Railway FC (A historic club, dominant earlier but still active), Police FC (Police Machine Team), Mandillas Lions FC, IBWA FC (International Bank for West Africa), National Bank FC, WEMA Bank FC; NET FC (Nigeria External Telecommunication), Nigerdock FC, NPA FC (Nigeria Ports Authority), ITT FC, Court of Appeal FC, across Lagos, made diehard supporters keep match fixtures as religious books.

Their extinction or slip into the lower tiers of football had since banished that excitement. However, recent shifts in the state’s football ecosystem is altering the story. Young and visionary sports-preneurs are reinvigorating the spirit of league football vibes in Lagos. The state government has never been directly involved in club ownership, unlike many other states with much leaner revenues, but the vibrant business ecosystem in Lagos has always attracted individuals and corporate entities as investors in sports.

Recent developments in the round leather game in Lagos is re-igniting league football nostalgia again. With no top football club from the state participating in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)—Nigeria’s top-flight football league, fans have always agitated for an alteration to the prevailing story.

Changing the narrative: Ikorodu City, Inter Lagos & Sporting Lagos.

The NPFL is dominated by government-owned clubs, with only a handful of privately owned clubs struggling to cope with the financial and logistical challenges. It is intriguing that from nothing three years ago, Lagos alone will contribute three privately-owned clubs to the course of the 2026/2027 NPFL campaign. As the forerunner, Ikorodu City sparked the silent revolution to bring back the vanished vibes of league football to the state four years ago.
The club was founded in January 2022, run by a board of directors, headed by Mr. Sanmi Doherty, as a community club, with a focus on finding and nurturing local talents. But that mission has since outgrown its objective. It gained promotion into the NPFL two years after its establishment and narrowly missed out on continental football in the 2024/2025 season—its maiden campaign. In the ongoing season, Ikorodu City are in the race for the title, tackling toe-to-toe with the high and mighty traditional and government-run teams like Shooting Stars, Kano Pillars, and Enugu Rangers, faring better than most of them.

Mobolaji Johnson Arena, popularly known as Onikan Stadium—Ikorodu City’s adopted home ground on Lagos Island, has since become the convergence point for Lagosians on NPFL matchdays, gradually bringing back the memories of what league football used to feel like in the ever-buzzling coastal city. It may not be tangible yet, but the reminder is that Lagos is on the verge of returning to when stadiums were filled hours before kick-offs on league matchdays.
If you thought Ikorodu City’s story was inspiring, those of Inter Lagos and Sporting Lagos are mind-blowing.

Inter Lagos FC, founded in 2023 by Lanre Vigo (CEO/President), Olumide Fayankin, and Gatumi Aliyu, secured a historic promotion to the NPFL recently from the Nigeria National League (NNL), and will compete in the NPFL next season. A 1–1 draw against Smart City FC confirmed their promotion to the Nigerian topflight, sealing top spot in the NNL Conference A with 29 points from 15 matches at the time, with a game to spare. They literally strolled into promotion with dominant performances. Before stepping into the NPFL, the newly promoted sides will clash from May 1st at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State, in the Super 4 play-off—a final test to determine the overall NNL champion.

Inter Lagos is more than a project built with intention, driven by structure, and backed by belief, which now has validation. In the midst of the ecstasy, the club has set in motion its vision ahead of its impending first season in the NPFL—with promises.

“I can’t put it into words. I just keep remembering the first day when we started this football club, and we are here now,” elated Vigo said after the game against Smart City.

“We are definitely going to bring good football, enjoy the journey, and make sure we survive.”
In another separate chat with ThePlayZone Podcast, the club’s CEO shared the team’s journey to the top and challenges encountered in the NNL, suggesting it is not an experience they want to go through again.

“The craziest thing for me (in NNL) was like the pitches; the state of some of the pitches. I will say it anywhere; Crown FC, their ground should not have been licensed because it is not just a football pitch. Going to those kinds of grounds makes it difficult to play football. And knowing the terrain there, a lot of people don’t feel safe. Once refs feel safe in a stadium, they will let the game flow. But when they are not safe, it makes things really difficult for them,” he disclosed.

Sporting Lagos, founded in 2022 by Shola Akinlade, completed the trio of Lagos clubs that will dazzle the NPFL next term. Two years after their relegation from the NPFL, Sporting Lagos secured promotion back to Nigeria’s top-flight, and did so in record-breaking fashion.

After last season’s final day heartbreak, their head coach, Jeffery Buter, took over from coach Shola Adegun with one thing screaming in mind – Promotion. The pain of watching their promotion slip away on the last day of the league became the springboard for another thrust. The club maintained the core of its players and infused a couple of academy players into the squad, with 10 youngsters registered in total. On the journey to promotion, Sporting Lagos racked up 36 points across 18 matches with 11 wins and three draws, while scoring an impressive 31 goals. Of those 11 wins, five came on the road, setting a record for their most away wins in a single season. The club also recorded its biggest home and away wins this season, with a 5-1 win at Stormers SC and a 5-0 thrashing of First Bank FC at home.

While paying tributes to the untiring support of their supporters, Sporting Lagos vowed to sustain their top-flight status this time.

“Our fans were an important part of our journey back to the top flight, supporting at home on weekends, weekdays, and even making long trips across state lines where they were treated to beautiful football by the players. As we gear up to play in the NNL Super 4 for the league title, we look forward to celebrating a possible NNL trophy with our fans.

“This promotion is just the beginning for us, as this club is here to stay, break records and even achieve more milestones in the future,” the club promised.

Rivalry in the city
The times are great for private club owners in Lagos, the NPFL gains more structured teams in its saddle, but the biggest winner is the city. Unintentionally, football rivalry was born in Lagos, like of old when Stationery Stores FC would clash with First Bank FC. With another NPFL season in the bag for Ikorodu City FC, who are still in the race for the title and continental ticket, the Oga Boys, Inter Lagos and Sporting Lagos would remind local football followers of how the city used to stand still on derby days back in the days. Interestingly, the three clubs jointly share the Onikan Stadium as their home ground—maybe the world’s newest San Siro, hosting city rivals.

It is not so hard to imagine the potential commercial value these three will bring to the city—to the business of sport—and the value chain. Sponsorship, merchandise, and souvenirs will be top drawer, and football lovers will be willing to pay ticket fees to watch quality football again.