Kano Pillars have confirmed the departure of eight players whose contracts expired at the end of the 2025/26 NPFL season, as the four time league champions begin the difficult task of rebuilding a squad that spent the final weeks of the campaign fighting to stay in the top flight.
Kano Pillars are entering the transfer window with work to do. The Sai Masu Gida have announced that eight players have left the club following the expiration of their contracts at the end of the 2025/26 Nigeria Premier Football League season, opening the first chapter of what promises to be a significant squad overhaul for one of Nigerian football’s most storied clubs.
The eight players confirmed as having departed are Bernard Ovoke, Christian Izuchukwu, Sudais Ali Baba, Aliyu Yakubu, Muhammad Galadima, Ugochukwu Gabriel, Zahraddeen Bello, and Williams Ayuba. In an official statement, the club thanked each player for their commitment, professionalism, and contributions during their time in Kano. The tone was respectful, but the numbers speak to how much work lies ahead. Releasing eight players in one announcement is not a minor squad adjustment it is the beginning of a fundamental reset. NPFL fans who want to track Kano Pillars’ signings and back them to bounce back strongly next season can check the Bet9ja promo code for enhanced odds on the 2026/27 NPFL campaign.
A Season That Should Never Be Repeated
The context behind these departures matters. Kano Pillars endured one of the most uncomfortable campaigns in their recent history during 2025/26, surviving relegation from the NPFL only on the final day of the season. A club that has won the Nigerian top flight four times and counts itself among the most supported sides in northern Nigeria spent the closing weeks of the campaign in the relegation zone, relying on other results going their way while their own fate remained uncertain until the very last matches were played.
They also failed to make any meaningful impact in the President Federation Cup, departing the competition without the kind of run that gives clubs and their supporters something to celebrate even when the league form has been poor. The combination of a near relegation in the league and an early Federation Cup exit made 2025/26 a season that the club and its supporters will want to put firmly behind them. NPFL supporters planning their bets ahead of the new season can get started with the Bet9ja YOHAIG welcome offer for new account holders.
Babaganaru Stays, Rebuild Begins
The one piece of continuity Kano Pillars are maintaining is at the helm. Head coach Mohammed Babaganaru, who guided the club through the turbulence of the 2025/26 campaign and ultimately kept them up, is expected to retain his position heading into the new season. That decision reflects the club’s belief that the problems were not primarily tactical or managerial the squad clearly needed significant freshening up, and the contract expirations have now opened the door for Babaganaru to bring in players better suited to his system and the demands of competing more comfortably in the NPFL.
The eight departures clear meaningful wage budget and open up squad places that the technical staff will need to fill before the 2026/27 season begins. Given how close Pillars came to dropping into the Nigeria National League, the incoming players will need to provide an immediate upgrade in quality and depth. Eight exits is a significant number for any club, but for one that spent the season scrapping to avoid the second tier, it represents the scale of renewal needed to ensure a more settled campaign next time around. Fans who want to follow the club’s pre-season buildup and back them in the new campaign can register via the Bet9ja sign-up page ahead of the new season’s opening fixtures.
The Weight of the Kano Pillars Name
It is worth pausing on what Kano Pillars represents in Nigerian football to understand why a season like 2025/26 generates the kind of pressure it does. Founded in 1963, the club has won the NPFL title four times in 1991, 1997, 2008, and 2012 — and has historically been one of the dominant forces in northern Nigerian football alongside Lobi Stars and Nasarawa United. Their home support at the Sani Abubakar Stadium is among the most passionate in the league, and the expectation from that fanbase is that Pillars compete near the top of the table, not at the bottom.
The 2025/26 season was a reminder that those expectations cannot always be managed without the right squad depth and consistency in the transfer window. Babaganaru now has the opportunity and the responsibility to assemble a group that reflects the ambitions of the club rather than one that simply survives. The eight released players are the first step in that process. What Pillars do next in the transfer market will tell us a great deal about whether the club’s leadership has absorbed the lessons of a season that came very close to ending in disaster.
📌 Did You Know?
- Kano Pillars have won the Nigeria Premier Football League title four times in 1991, 1997, 2008, and 2012 making them one of only a handful of clubs to have lifted the trophy on multiple occasions since the league’s modern era began.
- The club was founded in 1963 and is based at the Sani Abubakar Stadium in Kano, which has a capacity of around 20,000 and is one of the most atmospheric grounds in northern Nigerian football on match days.
- Kano Pillars are nicknamed the Sai Masu Gida, a Hausa phrase roughly translating to “the home owners” a name that reflects the club’s deep roots in Kano State and its identity as the city’s foremost football club.
- Mohammed Babaganaru is one of the more experienced coaches in the NPFL, having previously managed several clubs across Nigerian football before taking charge at Pillars. His decision to stay on despite the near relegation is understood to reflect the board’s confidence in his ability to turn the situation around with better personnel.
- The eight players released Bernard Ovoke, Christian Izuchukwu, Sudais Ali Baba, Aliyu Yakubu, Muhammad Galadima, Ugochukwu Gabriel, Zahraddeen Bello, and Williams Ayuba represent one of the largest single-announcement squad clearances at the club in recent seasons.
- Kano Pillars also failed to make a significant impact in the 2025/26 President Federation Cup, meaning the club exits the season without a trophy and without the NPFL security that a comfortable mid-table finish would have provided.
- The NPFL operates a 20-team top division with three automatic relegation spots, meaning clubs like Kano Pillars who finish in the bottom three go directly into the Nigeria National League a fate the Sai Masu Gida avoided only on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign.
