Nigeria's 3rd division league, NLO to start April 26 with home and away format

The Nationwide League One (NLO) Congress has set Wednesday, April 26, as the start date for the 2023 NLO league season.

The congress vetoed the Stadium League Format proposed by the Secretariat for the nation’s third-tier domestic league.

The NLO’s annual general meeting/congress was held virtually with representatives of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the NLO, state FAs and clubs in attendance.

The new season will use the Stadium League Format, and the season, which was originally scheduled to begin on April 13, will now begin on April 26.

The Congress, according to the NLO, adopted the League format after taking the nation's security, economic, and political challenges into consideration.

The Stadium League for this season will be in a home and away format as opposed to the one used two seasons ago, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic that halted general life globally.

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) Olusola Ogunowo, has disclosed that the league has an age bracket for players.

Ogunowo added that the NLO had found a partner and would now support all the clubs in Divisions One and Two, which was a good development for the league.

He said, “All the teams will be grouped in zones and will play matches in round robin, after that, go on a break for a week or two.

“All the teams will resume for the concluding part of the season.

“For the teams that get relegated to Division 2, which is now known as the Youth League, they will only retain 10 players from their teams. The reason is that the Youth League has an age cap of 16-19.”

The NLO also informed fans that all matches will be live-streamed on the NLO TV app.

Recall that Madiba wins last season of the league and will be plying their trade in the Nigeria National League (NNL).