Three players who helped keep Kun Khalifat in the NPFL are now heading to Port Harcourt, the first concrete sign of the recruitment drive Rivers United promised for their Champions League season.
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Rivers United have completed the signing of three players from Kun Khalifat, strengthening Finidi George’s squad ahead of a demanding 2026/27 campaign that will see the Pride of Rivers compete in both the Nigeria Premier Football League and the CAF Champions League, as reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng. The new arrivals are midfielders Chikamso Amaefula and Blessed Iyamu, along with striker James Ekebuike.
The trio’s departure marks a significant loss for Kun Khalifat, who fought through a difficult campaign and only secured their NPFL survival with a late-season surge. Losing three key contributors from that escape act so soon after staying up illustrates how quickly a club’s fortunes can be reshaped once bigger sides come calling for their best performers.
Why Rivers United Targeted This Trio
Kun Khalifat head coach Obinna Uzoho confirmed the departures, acknowledging that the three players had served the club well during their time there and choosing not to stand in the way of moves that represent clear career progression for all three. That kind of graceful exit speaks to the realities of Nigerian club football, where smaller sides often serve as proving grounds before their best talent gets pulled toward clubs competing for continental qualification.
For Rivers United, the timing of the signings fits neatly into the broader recruitment strategy chairman Chris Green outlined earlier this month, when he spoke publicly about the need to strengthen the squad significantly ahead of the Champions League campaign. Capturing a captain and two key contributors from a club that just survived relegation is a low risk, high-reward approach proven NPFL quality, already battle tested under pressure, arriving without the premium price tag a move from a more established club might command.
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A Goalkeeper Addition Completes the Early Business
Alongside the Kun Khalifat trio, Rivers United have also added goalkeeper Clinton Ezekiel from Bayelsa United, who were relegated from the NPFL at the end of the season just concluded. Much like the Kun Khalifat business, this is a familiar pattern in Nigerian football clubs that have just dropped down a division often become a recruitment ground for ambitious sides looking to add proven, locally tested quality at value prices.
Ezekiel’s arrival gives Rivers United additional depth between the posts as they prepare for a season that will demand squad rotation across multiple competitions. Continental campaigns place far greater physical and travel demands on a squad than a domestic season alone, and having quality depth at goalkeeper specifically becomes critical when fixture congestion sets in during the latter stages of the CAF Champions League group phase.
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Building From a Position of Strength
Rivers United head into this rebuild on the back of arguably their best NPFL season in years. Finidi George’s side finished runners-up in the league, accumulating 67 points and falling just one point short of champions Enugu Rangers, who secured the title with 68 points to claim their ninth top-flight crown. That second place finish is what secured Rivers United their CAF Champions League ticket in the first place, making this recruitment push a direct continuation of the progress shown last season rather than a reactive scramble.
With Green having already signalled intentions to bring in foreign talent from across the continent on top of domestic reinforcements like this Kun Khalifat trio, Rivers United’s transfer business this summer looks set to be among the more ambitious of any NPFL club heading into the new campaign. Whether that translates into genuine Champions League impact remains to be seen, but the early groundwork suggests a club building with real intent rather than simply making up the numbers in continental competition.
Fans who want to follow Rivers United’s continued recruitment and the build up to the new NPFL season can find a useful breakdown at this Bet9ja promo code today guide ahead of the campaign.
📌 Did You Know?
- Rivers United’s 67 point finish in the 2025/26 NPFL season was the closest the club has come to winning the Nigerian top-flight title since their formation, falling just one point short of champions Enugu Rangers.
- Enugu Rangers’ 68 point title win secured the club’s ninth Nigerian top-flight championship, extending their status as one of the most successful clubs in the league’s history.
- Kun Khalifat’s late season survival push to avoid relegation in 2025/26 makes the departure of three key contributors immediately afterward a notable test of the club’s squad depth heading into the new campaign.
- Bayelsa United, the club goalkeeper Clinton Ezekiel departs, were relegated from the NPFL at the end of the 2025/26 season, joining a growing list of clubs whose top players have been recruited by ambitious rivals following relegation.
- Rivers United are based in Port Harcourt and benefit from strong Rivers State Government backing, giving the club financial resources that have supported an increasingly ambitious recruitment strategy in recent transfer windows.
- The 2026/27 CAF Champions League campaign will place significant additional demands on Rivers United’s squad depth, given the format’s multiple qualifying rounds before clubs reach the group stage proper.
- Finidi George, who guided Rivers United to their runner up finish, is a former Super Eagles winger and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner, bringing significant playing pedigree to his current coaching role at the Port Harcourt club.
