Nigeria Hockey Super League Opens with Goals Galore as Champions Shine

Posted : 28 June 2026

The 2026 Nigeria Hockey Super League got off to an exciting start at the National Hockey Pitch, Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, with defending champions Kada Stars, Police Machine and Kada Queens producing dominant performances.

In the headline men's Pool A fixture, reigning champions Kada Stars began their title defence in emphatic fashion, defeating the South West Hockey Team 4-0.

Victor Kish opened the scoring from a penalty corner in the 15th minute before Eikana Ibrahim doubled the lead with a field goal three minutes later to give the Kaduna-based side a comfortable halftime advantage.

Kada Stars remained in control after the break as Daniel Janar converted another penalty corner in the 50th minute before Ibrahim completed his brace four minutes later to wrap up a convincing victory.

South West's challenge was further weakened after Omolade Olasukanmi received a yellow card in the 20th minute, while captain Umar Adamu was also cautioned in the 39th minute.

Elsewhere in the men's competition, Police Machine recorded the biggest win of the opening day with a resounding 9-1 victory over IGP Flickers. Stallions of Lagos defeated the Adamawa State Hockey Team 2-0, while Niger Flickers and Plateau Tigers shared the spoils in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

The women's fixtures also produced one-sided contests, with Kada Queens thrashing South West 6-0. Plateau Queens defeated IGP Babes 5-0, while Delta Queens secured an equally impressive 5-0 victory over Yobe Desert Queens.

Kada Stars captain Kelvin Linus attributed his team's impressive display to thorough preparation and their determination to retain the league title.

"We prepared very well for the tournament. We've been in finals before and achieved success. This time we trained very hard because we are aiming for another podium finish," he said.

Representing the President of the Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF), Engineer Simon Obadiah Nkom, Tunde Popoola praised the improved standard of play, noting that better coaching and increased player commitment were helping to raise the quality of Nigerian hockey.

He, however, identified the shortage of standard artificial hockey turfs as a major obstacle to introducing a home-and-away league format across the country.

Former Germany women's national team head coach Michael Behrmann, who is in Nigeria under a German government-supported sports development initiative, expressed satisfaction with the level of competition.

"I've seen great matches and a lot of enthusiasm. I was quite impressed by some of the men's players today, and I'm looking forward to watching the women's matches as well," Behrmann said.

Nigeria Hockey Federation board member and former international Farouk Johanna also commended the emergence of young talents, describing exposure through the Super League as vital to their development.

Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Edika Abo, said the performances on the opening day reflected the bright future of Nigerian hockey, while appealing for the resurfacing of the National Hockey Pitch, which has been in use since 2003.

The 2026 Nigeria Hockey Super League features nine men's teams and seven women's teams and will run until July 5 in Abuja.

The impressive opening-day performances highlighted the competitiveness of the league and the continued growth of hockey across Nigeria. With several matches still to be played, teams will be aiming to build momentum as the race for this season's titles gathers pace.

Nigeria Hockey Super League Opens with Goals Galore as Champions Shine

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