Sports
‘Away Form Would Decide 2016 NPFL’
For any team to win the
Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) these days, it has to have an impressive away form.
With improved officiating, teams are now more likely to pick points away from home as home invincibility no longer exists in the league.
Gone are the days a team would bank on 100 percent record at home and one or two draws away from home to win the league.
It is virtually impossible for a team to be crowned Nigeria champions in this dispensation without winning on away soil.
In fact, the more away matches a team wins, the better their chances of winning the title. There are stats to buttress this.
It will be noted that 31 away victories were recorded last season, the highest in the Premier League in the past 10 years.
Last season, Enyimba set a new league record of five away wins to win the title.
To pick the third continental ticket, Nasarawa had to fall back on a good run of away form that saw ‘The Solid Miners’ win four away games in the second round.
This term has not been different. All the top 10 teams on the table have one thing in common – they have all won an away game. The only team outside the top 10 to have won away from home are Warri Wolves.
Save for Giwa’s expulsion which meant Rangers’ 1-0 defeat of Giwa in Jos didn’t stand, the top three teams would have had two away victories each.
Wikki (2), Rangers (1) and Rivers United (2) are leading the pack. Rangers’ bouncing back to prominence was boosted by the 2-1 defeat of Heartland recently. If the Giwa game had counted, they would have been top now. But knowing how crucial points on the road are in the race, they did the needful in Owerri.
Wikki won away to El Kanemi on the opening day and beat Ikorodu in Lagos when the second stanza resumed a couple of weeks ago.
In the same vein, Rivers United’s unlikely charge at the title is down to two road victories against Ikorodu in Week 9 and Wolves in Week 15. The romance with the top particularly started after that Week 15 success.
Pillars (1 away victory), Lobi (1), MFM (1), Enyimba (2), Sunshine (1), Abia Warriors (2) and Akwa United (1) complete the top 10 teams on the table.
The top 10 teams have amassed 68 of the 84 away points garnered by away teams this season. So, the teams in the lower rung have pulled in just 16.
On the contrary, the fortunes of the relegation-threatened teams have been hampered by poor home form.
Four of the bottom six teams, namely Ikorodu, Shooting Stars, Heartland and El Kanemi, have lost twice at home.
Nasarawa has lost once, same as 13th-placed Wolves. Only 17th-placed Plateau are yet to lose at home.
A team like Heartland has drawn the most matches away (5) which could translate to one away win and two draws but have been largely undone by the two home losses.
It could therefore be deduced that while the teams who win more away matches will fight for the trophy, the ones who lose more home matches will battle for survival.
Only nine teams are yet to lose at home this term. They are Wikki, Rivers, Enyimba, MFM, Lobi, Rangers, Ifeanyi Uba (since the opening day home loss to Giwa no longer counts), Plateau and Tornadoes.
If the away victories involving Giwa had counted (they won one away game and lost two at home), the current season would have recorded 18 away victories so far, but at 15 away wins, last year’s 31 away wins could still be surpassed.
The good news however is that teams can now aspire to win anywhere.
Nwankpa Jnr writes for African football.com
Clement Nwankpa Jr
The Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off their injury worries to make a winning start to the NBA play-offs.
The 18-time champions were without key players Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Maxi Kleber but 41-year-old LeBron James produced another fine display in a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks were the other winners on day one of the play-offs, while the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic won the play-in tournament to book their places.
James controlled the floor while racking up 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds against a Houston side who lost key man Kevin Durant to injury just before play started.
“It’s just our play-off mentality,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
“You can’t worry about who’s in or out of the line-up. It’s our gameplan. It’s our standards. It’s how we play, and we’ve built towards that.
“I thought our guys just responded well and met the moment. That’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to meet the moment in every game, and we were able to do that.”
Luke Kennard continued to step up as a starter with a career play-off high 27 points as the Lakers took the opening game in the best-of-seven series.
Durant, 37, has a bruised knee and could return for game two on Tuesday night.
Defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder began their campaign last night against the Suns.
Brentford missed the chance to go sixth in the Premier League with a goalless draw against visitors Fulham, their fifth consecutive stalemate in the top flight.
A win would have helped the Bees overtake Chelsea and boost their chances of qualifying for a debut European campaign but they failed to capitalise in a game of few real chances at Gtech Community Stadium.
Fulham had the majority of possession but it was Brentford who had the best of chances in a lacklustre early kick-off.
Igor Thiago, only one behind 22-goal Erling Haaland in the Golden Boot race, headed wide from close range early on while Keane Lewis-Potter fired just over Bernd Leno’s goal from eight yards in the dying seconds of the first half.
Dango Ouattara, who attempted the only shot on target before the interval, failed to trouble Leno again with an effort from distance in the 58th minute.
An unmarked Mikkel Damsgaard then failed to hit the target with a first-time effort from the edge of the box after Kevin Schade played him through as frustration continued to build for Keith Andrews’ side.
Harry Wilson produced a well-timed run to get on the end of a cross in the 78th minute but dragged his shot wide in a rare opening for Fulham.
The teenager delivered a standout performance in what is regarded as one of Africa’s more competitive road cycling events, further strengthening her growing reputation as one of the sport’s most promising young riders.
The Tour du Faso, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, which also runs the Tour de France, has been part of the UCI Africa Tour since 2005 and is classified as a 2.2 event.
First held in 1987, it was reserved for amateurs until 1998. It is widely regarded as Africa’s biggest cycling race, a demanding ten-stage challenge that brings together European amateur riders and African local competitors in a contest often described as a blend of sporting ambition and opportunity.
Osaretin’s latest success in stage five adds to a remarkable journey that has seen her rise from humble beginnings as a wheelbarrow pusher to becoming both a Nigerian and African junior champion.
Her breakthrough on the national stage came at the 2024 National Sports Festival in May 2025, where she shocked everyone by defeating Nigeria’s first cycling Olympian Ese Ukpeseraye to win gold in the women’s 200m sprint final.
She went on to win another gold medal in the women’s road race at the inaugural African School Games in Algeria.
Her stage five victory in Burkina Faso now signals continued upward momentum as she establishes herself on the international cycling circuit and looks to build on her early success.
Kola Daniel, special assistant on media to the director general of the National Sports Commission, confirmed the development in a statement released on April 18, 2026.
4th
Falconets intensify preparations for Malawi clash
Nigeria’s U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets, have stepped up their build-up ahead of their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final qualifying first-leg encounter against Malawi, scheduled for May 2, Tidesports source reports.
The team have been in intensive training in Abuja as they fine-tune tactics and sharpen their preparations for the decisive fixture, with coaches focusing on team organisation and match strategy ahead of the encounter.
Head coach Moses Aduku expressed confidence in his squad’s readiness, stressing that preparations had reached an advanced stage and that focus had shifted fully to tactical execution.
Aduku said the team are fully concentrated on the task ahead and believes they are well positioned to secure a positive result in the first leg.
“We have a full squad on ground and everyone is focused on the task at hand. From now, we will concentrate on team planning and tactical work. We are taking this very seriously, and I believe by the end of the match we will come out victorious,” he told NFF media.
The Falconets have maintained a positive atmosphere in camp, with high morale among the players and no reported injury concerns.
The coaching staff have also been working on integrating players from different clubs, with emphasis on building cohesion and balance within a short preparation window.
Aduku also appealed for continued support from fans, drawing parallels with previous qualifying rounds against Rwanda and Senegal, while expressing confidence that the team would secure qualification over the two legs.
“To our supporters, we plead that you pray for us as you did when we played Rwanda and Senegal in the earlier rounds. I believe Nigeria will smile with a ticket to the World Cup after the two legs against Malawi,” he added.
Nigeria reached this stage after overcoming Senegal 3-1 on aggregate in the previous round, following a 1-0 home win and a 2-1 away victory.
They had earlier defeated Rwanda 5-0 on aggregate to advance.
Their opponents, Malawi, arrive in strong form after a commanding 6-2 aggregate win over Guinea Bissau, including a 5-1 victory in Lilongwe following a 1-1 draw in the first leg away from home.
The return leg of the qualifier will be held in Lilongwe on May 9, with both sides competing for a place at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland in 2026.