In a rather coincidental pairing, league champions Rangers International will face Cup champions El-Kanemi Warriors in the opening match of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, www.aclsports.com reports.
In the draws conducted at the heels of the NPFL Board and Club Owners Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja on Tuesday, Rangers International will begin their title defence at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium, Enugu against the Warriors from Maiduguri on August 31, 2024.
Rangers International in June claimed the league title for the first time in eight years while El-Kanemi Warriors defeated Abia Warriors in the President Federation Cup final, claiming their first piece of silverware in three decades.
Both teams will start their season even earlier with the Flying Antelopes participating in the CAF Champions League preliminary round while El-Kanemi will be in the CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round to be decided one week before the league opener.
In other notable Week 1 fixtures, Abia Warriors will host Remo Stars while Warriors’ sister club Enyimba FC will travel to face Remo Stars’ academy club Beyond Limits FC. Lobi Stars will face Akwa United in Bauchi.
While the league curtain raiser between Rangers and El-Kanemi Warriors will hold on August 31, the nine other Match Day 1 fixtures will hold one week later.
The NPFL Board has also announced that the prize money for the title winners has been increased to N200m nairas from the N150m nairas that Rangers International received for winning the 2023/2024 season.
