Emmanuel Amuneke says Heartland are already back in training for a second straight season in the NNL, after a third place finish left them just short of an immediate return to the NPFL.
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Heartland have resumed preseason preparations for the 2026/27 Nigeria National League campaign, technical manager Emmanuel Amuneke has confirmed, as the Owerri club begin plotting another route back to the NPFL.
“Yes, we’ve resumed for the new season. That was last Monday,” Amuneke said when asked about the Naze Millionaires’ preparations for the new NNL campaign.
This will be Heartland’s second consecutive season outside the top flight following relegation from the NPFL at the end of the 2024/25 season. They came agonisingly close to bouncing straight back last term, finishing third on 27 points, just behind Beyond Limits on 28 and eventual promotion winners Inter Lagos on 29, with only one automatic promotion spot available in Conference A.
Amuneke framed the new campaign as a fresh start built on process rather than promises. “We’ve started out on a new journey, hoping that by trusting the process, we’ll get to our desired destination,” he said. Fans following how the promotion race shapes up this season can check Bet9ja’s current promo code ahead of the new NNL kickoff.
The club Amuneke is trying to rebuild carries real weight in Nigerian football history. Heartland, playing under their earlier name of Iwuanyanwu Nationale, won the domestic league title five times between 1987 and 1993, a run that still ranks among the most dominant spells any Nigerian club has produced.
The club’s identity has shifted more than once along the way. Heartland were founded in 1976 as Spartans FC, rebranded as Iwuanyanwu Nationale in 1985 under businessman Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and reverted to the Heartland name in 2006 when ownership passed back to the Imo State government.
Amuneke brings serious pedigree of his own to the rebuilding job. He scored both goals in Nigeria’s 1994 AFCON final win over Zambia, his only appearance of that tournament, and was named African Player of the Year as a result. New Bet9ja users tracking the NNL this season can also check how to get the Bet9ja promotion code before the campaign gets going.
Two years later he played a key role as Nigeria beat Argentina 3-2 in the final to win football gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, becoming the first African nation to claim the event. Cameroon would become the second African men’s Olympic champions four years later, beating Spain on penalties at Sydney 2000.
Heartland’s own history hasn’t been without tragedy. In 1994, a plane carrying the squad back from a CAF Champions Cup quarterfinal defeat in Tunisia crashed, killing two players and injuring more than 20 others, a disaster that still shapes how the club is remembered. Bettors wanting to back Heartland’s promotion push can check Bet9ja’s YOHAIG code as the new season approaches.
For now, the focus is squarely on getting back to the top flight. Amuneke has already led Heartland through one promotion push that fell just short, and the club will be hoping this second attempt, built on the same patient process he keeps referring back to, finally gets them over the line.
📌 Did You Know?
- Heartland reached the 1988 African Champions Cup final but lost 4-1 on aggregate to Algeria’s Entente Setif.
- The club play their home matches at the 10,000-capacity Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri.
- Imo State governor Hope Uzodinma personally unveiled Amuneke as Heartland’s technical manager.
- Amuneke was honoured with Nigeria’s Member of the Order of the Federal Republic award in November 2025.
- Heartland are also known by the nicknames Naze Millionaires, Spartans and Soccer Scientists.
- Before joining Heartland, Amuneke had spells as a player at Julius Berger of Lagos and Zamalek of Egypt.
- Heartland’s title winning run in the late 1980s and early 1990s came while the club was still playing under the name Iwuanyanwu Nationale.
