The new Nigeria Nationwide League One, NLO, season will kick off on Wednesday, May 3rd at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano State, with a cracker between Kano Pillars Jnr against Kwankwasiya United FC.
Organisers made the announcement at a media briefing held to update sponsors, corporate organisations, and football stakeholders on its activities over the past decade.
Organisers also revealed that from the 2023 Season, NLO will have only two Divisions instead of three with Divisions II and III merged into the Youth League and will feature 420 Clubs across the federation.
The theme of the event was “2013-2022: A Decade of Growth,” which celebrated the league’s achievements over the past 10 years while highlighting its objectives and future plans.
The NLO is Nigeria’s third-tier football league saddled with the responsibility of repositioning the league as a key resource base for other local and international leagues.
The league also provides young Nigerians with an opportunity to develop their skills and reach their full potential while promoting community, respect, inclusivity, and growth.
In the last decade, the body has 344 clubs spread across the country’s six geopolitical zones and the FCT, with over 20,000 players, coaches, officials, and more than 8,000,000 match-day attendances per season.
To achieve these objectives, the league has adopted a growth strategy anchored on good corporate governance, administration and management reforms, implementation of reforms in its season operations, and activation of strong brand-building initiatives.
According to NLO’s Chief Operating Officer Olushola Ogunnowo, the goal of the body is to make it the access market for grassroots talents.
Ogunnowo said, “Our goal is to make NLO the access market for grassroots football in Nigeria and the youth football target market. We aim to produce the highest number of youths participating in the NLO at the grassroots level and continue to strive for and maintain official recognition of the Youth League from FIFA and increased interest from foreign clubs because of our Youth League.”
The NLO’s Marketing Consultant, Ms. Nkechi Obi, emphasised the importance of NLO’s success in becoming recognized as the access market for grassroots football in Nigeria.
She stated that “NLO Product Consolidation is driven by deliberate brand optimisation and value chain development, partnerships, and sustainable community engagement, as well as media activations and content creation.”
Dominica Nwabufo
