Nasarawa United football club of Lafia and El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguiri have secured tickets to return to the elite Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), after playing one season the Nigeria National League (NNL)
Recall that Nasarawa United and El Kanemi Warriors were both relegated to the country’s second league, the Nigerian National League (NNL), after they failed to survive at the end of the 2023 season of the top flight NPFL
At the final group matches played simultaneously at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium and University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (INEC) stadium, both in Enugu, the Solid Miners booked their return to the elite league after over powering Sporting Supreme FC of Abuja by two goals to one (2–1), while El Kanemi Warriors pounced pointless Sokoto United 4–1 to pick the second ticket from the leagues Northern Conference
Nasarawa United booked their return in a fashionable way, after showing their supremacy, as they won all three matches they played at the Super 8 championship, having earlier defeated El -Kanemi Warriors 1–0 and Sokoto United 2-1 in the previous games to emerge winners of the Northern conference
El- Kanemi Warriors however came second from the conference, after it bounced back from its loss to Nasarawa United In the first game to beat Sporting Supreme and Sokoto United at their second and final group matches respectively, ending the group at six points behind Nasarawa United who finished at nine points
Osun state based Beyond Limits FC and Ikorodu United also booked their places to play at the elite league next season after they all finished at seven and five points respectively, with victories over Inter Lagos and Madiba FC in the final games of the Southern Conference
While Ikorodu United trounced fellow Lagos state side, Madiba 2 — 0, Beyond Limits recorded a slim 1—0 win over another Lagos based team, Inter Lagos to cement their NPFL ticket in the 2024/2025 season
The results from the Southern Conference however shows that Beyond Limits emerged the group winners despite finishing at same seven points while Ikorodu United finished second with five points
As the Northern Conference winners, Nasarawa United will therefore square up against Beyond Limits (Southern Conference), winners in the grand finale on Thursday to decide the eventual winners of the 2024 NNL season
This even as Nasarawa United striker Toyeed Yusuf, who was the tormentor in chief of Sporting Supreme emerged the ProStat Man of the Match for the second time.
Yusuf who was the scorer of one of the Solid Miners goals against the Abuja based opponents, was also voted the MOTN at the Nasarawa United’s second game against Sokoto United on Monday
The NNL Super 8 Man Of The Match (MOTN) award is sponsored by football wears manufacturing giants, Pro Star, in partnership with the NNL
