The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced that clubs that fail to honour matches in the national preliminaries of the 2026 President’s Federation Cup will be fined N1 million.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the NFF Director of Competitions, Ruth David, the state preliminary rounds of the country’s oldest football competition will take place from March 22 to April 26, 2026.
David explained that the preliminary stage will begin on Sunday, March 22, warning that any club that completes registration at the state level but fails to show up for a scheduled match will face a N500,000 fine.
She added that the final matches in the state competitions must be played either on Saturday, April 25, or Sunday, April 26, after which each state football association, including that of the Federal Capital Territory, will submit two representatives for the national phase of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the NFF disciplinary committee has handed down several sanctions following protests arising from league matches across the country.
In a ruling on the dispute involving Gombe United FC and Jigawa Golden Stars FC during a Nigeria National League fixture on December 21, 2025, the committee fined Gombe United N1 million after fans invaded the pitch and influenced a refereeing decision.
The centre referee, Terwase Chia, was suspended for the rest of the season for professional misconduct, while Jigawa Golden Stars were fined N500,000 for refusing to continue the match.
Read also:
- Man City’s Rodri fined £80,000 for referee comments
- CAF concludes facilities inspection ahead African Schools Football Championship
- Nigerian Football mourns again as Super Eagles Star Samuel Chukwueze loses mother
The game was declared concluded with the scoreline standing at 0–0.
In another decision, Wikki Tourist FC were fined a total of N4 million following crowd trouble during their match against Katsina United FC in the Nigeria Premier Football League.
The sanctions included fines for failing to provide adequate security, throwing dangerous objects onto the pitch, and conduct capable of bringing the game into disrepute.
The club will also play their next five home matches away from Bauchi, with fixtures relocated to Jos Stadium.
Similarly, Kwara United FC was heavily sanctioned following incidents in their league match against Rivers United FC at the Rashidi Yekini Main Bowl.
The club was fined N5 million in total for security lapses, crowd misconduct, and damages to officials.
The disciplinary committee also ordered a three-point and three-goal deduction from the club’s tally and directed that their next five home matches be played away from Ilorin at the MKO Abiola Stadium.
The NFF stated that all decisions of the disciplinary committee are subject to the right of appeal.
