Three of Nigerian football’s biggest traditional clubs exited the President Federation Cup on the same day, all beaten on penalties, as the quarter final stage shapes up as a wide open competition with no clear favourite left standing.
The President Federation Cup Round of 16 produced a day of high drama across multiple venues on Saturday, with Enyimba, Rivers United and Bendel Insurance all eliminated on penalties to end their involvement in the competition, FootballInNigeria.com.ng reports. The three clubs account for a combined 22 major Nigerian titles between them, and their simultaneous exit in the last 16 leaves the quarter-final draw without any of the competition’s most decorated historical sides. Ikorodu City, Nasarawa United and El-Kanemi Warriors are the beneficiaries, advancing alongside Barau FC, Sokoto United, Wikki Tourists, Flight FC and Plateau United.
Enyimba’s exit at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City was the most striking of the day. The People’s Elephant from Aba took the lead through Jacob Jonathan in the 25th minute and looked set to progress before Ikorodu City’s Aderemi Adeoye equalised eight minutes from time to force a shootout. Ikorodu then converted five of their spot-kicks, with Enyimba managing only four, to seal a 5-4 penalty victory and book a quarter final tie against Barau FC. NPFL fans keeping up with the cup run can check the latest domestic football odds at FootballInNigeria’s Bet9ja promo code page.
Rivers United’s Road Accident Shadow and a Hard Exit
Rivers United’s elimination carried extra weight given the circumstances surrounding their journey to Benin City. The Port Harcourt club were involved in a road accident earlier in the week ahead of the Nasarawa United fixture, a story that had raised serious concerns about player welfare before the match even kicked off. They performed admirably in the context, taking the game to a 2-2 draw after regulation time before losing 5-3 on penalties to Nasarawa United. The Lafia-based club will face Plateau United in the quarter finals. It was a hard ending for a Rivers United side that had plenty of momentum in recent weeks after their involvement in the Federation Cup group stage, and the road accident backdrop made the penalty exit feel particularly tough.
Bendel Insurance’s exit was if anything even more excruciating. The Benin City outfit drew 3-3 with El-Kanemi Warriors in regulation time before losing 8-7 in one of the longest penalty shootouts in recent Nigerian cup memory. Eleven successful penalties between the two sides speaks to the nerve and quality both goalkeepers displayed. El-Kanemi advance to face Sokoto United in the last eight. Nigerian football supporters wanting to follow the rest of the cup competition can find current NPFL and cup betting markets at Bet9ja using the YOHAIG sign-up code.
Full Round of 16 Results
Round of 16
Sokoto United 2-0 Adamawa United
Bendel Insurance 3-3 El-Kanemi Warriors (El-Kanemi win 8-7 on penalties)
Kada Warriors 1-3 Wikki Tourists
Bida Lions 0-1 Flight FC
Rivers United 2-2 Nasarawa United (Nasarawa win 5-3 on penalties)
Plateau United 2-1 FC Basira
Ikorodu City 1-1 Enyimba (Ikorodu win 5-4 on penalties)
Sunshine Stars U-19 1-2 Barau FC
Quarter-Final Fixtures
Sokoto United vs El-Kanemi Warriors
Wikki Tourists vs Flight FC
Nasarawa United vs Plateau United
Ikorodu City vs Barau FC
What the Draw Means
The quarter final lineup is a genuinely competitive set of fixtures without an obvious favourite. Sokoto United versus El-Kanemi Warriors pits two sides with strong northern football traditions. Wikki Tourists against Flight FC is arguably the most intriguing tie of the four Wikki’s 3-1 win over Kada Warriors showed composure and rhythm, while Flight FC edged through 1-0 against Bida Lions and will be testing themselves at a higher level than they are accustomed to. Nasarawa United against Plateau United is a central Nigeria derby with real local stakes, and Ikorodu City against Barau FC will determine which of the cup’s surprise packages goes further. None of these matchups looks straightforward on paper, and the absence of Enyimba, Rivers United, and Bendel Insurance means whoever wins the President Federation Cup this year will be doing so without having to navigate past any of Nigerian football’s giants. Readers keen to place bets on the quarter-final outcomes can access the latest cup markets at today’s Bet9ja promo code page.
📌 Did You Know?
- Enyimba are Nigeria’s most successful club in the NFF Cup competition, having won it eight times. Their penalty shootout exit to Ikorodu City on Saturday means they have now been eliminated before the semi-finals in consecutive editions of the competition.
- Rivers United were involved in a road accident during their journey to the Round of 16 fixture against Nasarawa United earlier in the week. The club travelled to the game despite that disruption and pushed the match to penalties before losing 5-3 in a significant show of character under difficult circumstances.
- Bendel Insurance’s 8-7 penalty loss to El-Kanemi Warriors is one of the longest shootouts in the history of the President Federation Cup. An 8-7 result implies at least 15 successful penalty kicks were taken, with both goalkeepers saving at least one attempt each before the tie was decided.
- Ikorodu City, who eliminated Enyimba, are one of the newer clubs to establish themselves in Nigerian football’s upper tier. Founded in the early 2010s and based in Lagos State, their rise through the lower divisions to NPFL competition and now a Federation Cup quarter final reflects the strength of football development in the Lagos corridor over the past decade.
- Rangers International, who are not in the quarter-final draw, won the NPFL title in the 2025/26 season — their ninth championship. Their absence from the President Federation Cup last eight means the competition has no current league champions in the quarter final stage.
- Nasarawa United, one of the quarter-finalists, previously featured in the Nigeria Premier Football League pipeline that produced Onuche Ogbelu the midfielder who recently joined Libyan club Al-Ittihad SC from Esperance. The club has built a consistent record of developing and selling players to North African and broader African markets.
- The President Federation Cup a rebranding of the long-standing NFF Cup and Nigeria Federation Cup was renamed in 2023 and has since attracted more consistent broadcast coverage and sponsorship attention, contributing to larger attendances at later-round fixtures. The quarter-final stage is expected to be played across neutral venues in the coming weeks.