The Nigerian American Football Association (NAFA) has officially unveiled Season Four of the Nigerian Secondary School Flag Football League (NSSFFL), marking another step forward for grassroots sports development in the country.
The launch took place on Thursday at Haven Tower, Agidingbi, Ikeja, with top officials including NAFA Secretary General and spokesperson Lawrence Ojaideh; Abiodun Bello, representing Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF) President Olabisi Joseph; league coordinator Abe Oluwatobi; and Samson Akapo from the Lagos State Sports Commission.
This season will feature schools from 11 states — Akwa Ibom, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Benue, Kwara, Rivers, Ogun, Cross River, Abuja, and Lagos, with Lagos defending both the male and female titles. Preliminary rounds will run from October 27 to November 6 across the states before the national finals.
Ogun will kick off the preliminaries on October 27, followed by Oyo and Ekiti on October 28, Ondo and Rivers on October 29, and Akwa Ibom and Kwara on October 30. Abuja and Lagos will host their games on November 4, with Benue and Lagos concluding the preliminaries on November 6.
In his address, Ojaideh said the league has grown from about 900 student-athletes in its debut year in 2022 to more than 6,000 participants nationwide.
“The NSSFFL is now Africa’s largest school flag football competition and a hub for youth engagement, sports education, and athletic discovery,” Ojaideh said.
He announced the upcoming Nigeria Collegiate Flag Football League (NCFFL), a partnership between NAFA and the Nigerian Universities Games Association (NUGA), to provide a pathway for secondary school players to continue the sport at the tertiary level.
Ojaideh also noted that some former NSSFFL players have represented Nigeria at the inaugural IFAF Africa Flag Football Championship, where both the men’s and women’s teams won gold medals.
NAFA acknowledged the role of the Nigeria School Sport Federation and sponsors including Browns Nigeria (in partnership with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns), Unique Open University, Allez Charis Gas Limited, Zibwe, Stretford Hill Limited, and the Gridiron Gems initiative, which promotes female participation in flag football.
“Together, we are building more than a league — we are shaping a movement that proves Nigeria is ready for American football,” Ojaideh said.
