NFF Announces Fines for Clubs, Sanctions Gombe United, Wikki Tourist and Kwara United
The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that clubs that fail to honour matches in the national preliminaries of the President Federation Cup will be fined N1 million.
The directive was made known by the NFF Director of Competitions, Ruth David, in a statement released on Monday.
According to the statement, the state preliminary matches of the competition will take place between March 22 and April 26, 2026. Clubs that fail to appear for a match after completing registration at the state level will be fined N500,000.
The NFF also said the final matches of the state competitions must be played on April 25 or April 26, after which each state Football Association and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will submit two representatives for the national stage of the competition.
Meanwhile, the NFF Disciplinary Committee has announced several decisions following protests from clubs in the Nigeria National League and the Nigeria Premier Football League.
In the case involving Gombe United and Jigawa Golden Stars, the committee found that Gombe United fans entered the field during the match and pressured the referee to change a goal kick decision to a penalty.
As a result, Gombe United were fined N1 million for pitch encroachment. The centre referee, Terwase Chia, was suspended for the rest of the season for professional misconduct. Jigawa Golden Stars were also fined N500,000 for refusing to continue the match in protest. The match result was confirmed as 0–0.
In another case, the committee ruled on a protest involving Wikki Tourist and Katsina United.
The committee found that Wikki Tourist failed to provide adequate security, which allowed unauthorised persons into restricted areas. Supporters of the club were also found to have thrown dangerous objects onto the pitch.
Wikki Tourist were fined N2 million for poor security, N1 million for unsporting conduct, and another N1 million for throwing dangerous objects. The club was also ordered to play five home matches away from Bauchi as part of the punishment.
In a separate decision involving Kwara United and Rivers United, the committee ruled that Kwara United failed to control their supporters, which led to harassment and injuries to match officials and players.
The club was fined N2 million for failing to provide proper security, N1 million for the behaviour of their supporters, and N2 million as compensation for damages and treatment of injured officials.
The committee also deducted three points and three goals from Kwara United’s total and ordered the club to play five home matches away from Ilorin.
The NFF stated that all the decisions are subject to the right of appeal.
