Omokaro: I Have Never Seen an NPFL Season This Competitive

The 61 year old Omokaro, nicknamed “10-10,” spoke to FootballInNigeria.com.ng on Friday ahead of Sunday’s final matchday, when the title, third place and the CAF Confederation Cup berth that comes with it will all be decided simultaneously across multiple venues. Omokaro was part of the Iwuanyanwu Nationale dominated Nigeria squad at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, and his playing career gave him a ringside view of Nigerian football at both its most dominant and its most chaotic. That context made his assessment of the current season all the more striking. “This is something remarkably special,” he said. “You can’t predict a winner until the final whistle of the last matches.” Nigerian fans backing their favourite clubs on Sunday can check the Bet9ja NPFL final day offer for the best available markets before kick-off.

His core argument was simple a season where the title race, the European places and the relegation battle all remain genuinely unresolved heading into the last round of fixtures is a season that has delivered something rare and valuable. He framed the drama not as a sign of instability but as a marker of quality, pointing out that the only way a league produces this kind of tension is if the teams at the top are evenly matched enough that small margins decide everything. The implication was that the NPFL’s growth under the current administration has made the competition harder to predict, which is precisely what any healthy football league should aspire to produce.

Rangers Showing More Seriousness, Says Omokaro

When pressed to make a prediction between Rangers International and Rivers United, Omokaro declined to call a definitive winner but offered a pointed observation that will be widely discussed across Nigerian football before Sunday. He noted that Rangers are playing away from home, which ordinarily represents a disadvantage, but that the Enugu club have shown more seriousness throughout the title race compared to their Port Harcourt rivals. The remark was carefully phrased but carried a clear implication in his reading of both clubs’ recent form and mentality, Rangers have behaved more like a side that intends to win something, even in the games where the pressure was highest.

Rivers United hold the psychological advantage of playing at their home ground, the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, which has been one of the more hostile venues in the NPFL this season. They are one point behind Rangers heading into Sunday and need their city neighbours to drop points while simultaneously winning their own game. It is not an impossible combination, but it is a combination that requires help, and Omokaro’s cautious backing of Rangers, framed around mentality rather than tactics, reflects the view of many in the Nigerian football community that the Enugu club have had the better nerve throughout the run-in. Fans placing bets on the final day can use the Bet9ja’s YOHAIG code for an enhanced opening bonus before kick-off on Sunday.

What a Rangers Title Would Mean for Nigerian Football

Rangers International have not won the NPFL championship since 1984, a drought of 42 years that would rank among the longest title waits ended by any major club in African domestic football. Their most recent success came during an era when the league still operated under a different structure, the old National League, and the players who delivered it are now senior citizens. A generation of Rangers fans in Enugu has grown up without seeing their club lift the championship, and the prospect of ending that wait on Sunday has generated a level of anticipation in the south-east that the NPFL has rarely managed to produce at this stage of a season.

For the league itself, the result either way would be a vindication of what chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye’s administration has spent the last two seasons building. The 2025-26 NPFL campaign is the first to end on the same weekend as the English Premier League, a logistical achievement that would have seemed improbable just a few years ago. It has produced over 44 away wins, improved officiating standards, reduced controversies and, according to Omokaro, the most competitive title race anyone in the game can remember. Whether Rangers or Rivers United lifts the trophy on Sunday, the season itself has already answered the most important question about the NPFL’s direction of travel. Those eager to watch every goal on Sunday can browse the Bet9ja live stream guide to find out how to follow the final day action on mobile.