Sporting Lagos were crowned champions of the 2025/26 Nigeria National League season despite losing 1-0 to city rivals Inter Lagos in the final match of the Super 4 playoffs at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Friday.
Bashir Hassan scored the only goal of the match in the seventh minute to hand Inter Lagos victory in the Lagos derby. However, Sporting Lagos finished top of the standings on superior goal difference to claim their first NNL title.
The Super 4 tournament featured the four conference winners in the second-tier league, with all teams already guaranteed promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League for the 2026/27 season.
Sporting Lagos entered the final round knowing they only needed to avoid a heavy defeat to remain top of the table.
Inter Lagos started the game strongly and took an early lead after Hassan finished off a move inside the opening minutes.
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The early goal increased the pressure on Sporting Lagos as Inter pushed forward in search of more goals that could have changed the title race.
Sporting Lagos gradually improved as the match progressed and created several opportunities, particularly in the second half.
Inter Lagos, however, remained organised at the back and protected their lead until the final whistle.
Although Sporting Lagos lost the match, their earlier results in the tournament proved enough to secure the title.
They began their Super 4 campaign with a 1-0 win over Ranchers Bees before recording a 4-0 victory against Doma United.
Those results gave Sporting Lagos a goal difference advantage over Inter Lagos after both teams ended the competition with six points.
Inter Lagos finished second, while Ranchers Bees claimed third place after defeating Doma United 3-1 in the other final-round fixture.
The competition also ended with several awards presented by the league organisers.
Inter Lagos forward Adebayo Oyedele finished as the highest goalscorer and received a cash prize of N880,000.
Smart City were named the best-behaved team and earned N400,000.
Paul Offor, now coach of Akwa United, won the coach of the season award, while Dele Ayenugba of Beyond Limits was named best goalkeeper.
Yahaya Husseini of Sokoto FC won the most valuable player award, while Barnabas Imenger received the goal of the season award for his strike for Lobi Stars.
Inter Lagos also won the award for best supporters’ club, while the Anambra State Football Association was recognised as the best FA.
A total of N8.1m was distributed during the awards ceremony, while Sporting Lagos received an additional N10m for winning the league title.
