Sixteen grassroot teams will ignite the cities of Kano and Uyo as the eagerly anticipated inaugural NLO Cup kicks in on Friday.

The NLO Cup sponsored by telecommunications giant MTN and FirstCentral Credit Bureau is poised to celebrate the best of Nigeria's third-tier football- and it doesn’t come much bigger as the Sani Abacha Stadium and Uyo Township Stadium will play host to the fiesta to the delight of teeming fans.

The opening match on Friday between Likeminds FC versus Zeal Minds FC  and Roro FC versus Jaguar FC kicks off respectively at the Sani Abacha Stadium and Uyo Township Stadium at 10 am. 

Chief Operating Officer of the nation’s third-tier league and an astute grassroot football administrator per excellence, Olushola Ogunnowo spoke ahead of the kickoff.

"On behalf of the NLO, I want to express our thanks to our headline sponsors MTN and FirstCentral Credit Bureau for having faith in the NLO brand and its vision by footing the bills of the NLO Cup. 

“Preparations are in top gear, as we’re set for the NLO Cup to kick off amid funfair. The 16 clubs have arrived at their different venues.

“All logistics are in place as, A-grade facilities, the (Sani Abacha Stadium and Uyo Township Stadium) have been selected, as the NLO Cup will showcase the best of Nigeria's grassroot football to the world.

“The NLO Cup will ignite the passion and the abundant skills of our players. The 16 teams have been grouped into 1 and 2, with each having A and B of four teams each.

"After the group phases in Kano and Uyo, the overall winner in Group 1A will take on that of Group 1B in the semi-finals, the same applies with that of Uyo.

"The overall winner from Group 1 (Kano) will tackle the winner from Group 2 (Uyo) in the final on 9th December at the Bwari Stadium in Abuja."

The NLO Cup will run from Friday 24th November to 9th December 2023.