The fixtures for the 2025 season of the New Year Mega Lottery (NYML) Nationwide League One (NLO) have been officially announced, featuring a total of 32 teams from across the country competing for promotion to the Nigeria National League (NNL). This was confirmed in a statement signed by Olushola Ogunnowo, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the NLO.
According to the COO, the promotion will be determined through a round-robin format, with teams divided into 8 groups of 4. Each team will play three matches, and the group winners will qualify directly for promotion to the NNL.
For the fixtures at Slot 1 (Ijebu-Ode Stadium), the matchups will feature the Winner of Legacy Pitch A against the Winner of Maracana B, while the Winner of Legacy Pitch B will face the Winner of Maracana A.
In Slot 2 (Legacy Pitch), the Winner of Ikorodu A will compete against the Winner of Ebedei, and the Winner of Ikorodu B will go up against the Winner of Ilaro.
Proceeding to Slot 3 in Akure, the Winner of Asaba will meet the Winner of Iseyin, and the winners of Ile-Ogbo and Ijebu-Ode will also go head-to-head.
Slot 4 will take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, where the Winner of Calabar Centre will host the Winner of Awka, and the Winner of Uyo will face the Winner of Oisa.
In the Northern Zone, Bwari Stadium in Abuja has been selected as the venue for Slot 5. This will feature a Kwara Derby, with the Winner of Kwara 1 taking on the Winner of Kwara 2, and the Winner of Lafia clashing with the Winner of Minna.
Match action for Slot 6 will occur at the newly revamped Lafia Stadium in Nasarawa State, where the Winner of Jos will play against the Winner of FCT Centre 1, while the Winner of FCT Centre 2 will compete with the Winner of Bwari Centre.
At Slot 7 in Jos Stadium, the Winner of Bauchi Centre will go up against the Winner of ABS Kaduna Centre, and the Winner of Gumel Centre will face the Winner of Gom/Num/Yobe Centre.
Finally, Slot 8 will be held in Gumel, Jigawa. The winner from Sokoto Centre will compete against the winner of the Barau Centre, and the winners of the Sani Abacha Stadium Centre and Bichi Centre will also battle it out.
In addition to the main matches, there will be additional round-robin fixtures in the various centres.
The NYML/NLO 2025 season officially kicked off on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, with all 32 centres hosting matches.
Ogunnowo described this development as "great" and expressed his excitement at the prospect of young, talented players showcasing their skills on the pitch.
