Sporting Lagos claimed their first-ever NNL title with a hard-fought victory against rivals Inter Lagos in the decisive Lagos Derby on Friday at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne.
The two sides produced a tense and exciting derby. Inter Lagos started brightly and took the lead in the seventh minute through Hassan Bashiru, who beat his marker before calmly slotting past goalkeeper Gafar Olaniyan. However, Sporting Lagos responded strongly, fought back, and secured the vital win they needed.
Heading into the final round of the NNL Super 4 playoffs, Sporting Lagos led the table with six points. They delivered a strong performance to overcome the early setback, protect their goal difference, and lift the championship trophy.
Jeffery Butler’s side finished the tournament with a plus-four goal difference, two better than Inter Lagos, to seal the title in style.
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The victory also triggered a big payout for the squad. Under the incentive scheme, players in the matchday squad and selected officials earned ₦56,000 for every regular season win. As Super 4 champions, the club expanded the reward to cover the full 30-man squad and team officials.
With the additional money from Friday’s triumph, Sporting Lagos took home more than ₦18 million in total from the initiative this season. They had already received ₦16,688,000 during the regular campaign — the highest among the four Super 4 teams. Inter Lagos and Doma United each earned ₦11,592,000, while Ranchers Bees received ₦9,016,000.
League-wide, the initiative paid out ₦287,168,000 through 5,128 transactions. An extra ₦8.1 million went to end-of-season individual awards.
Sporting Lagos forward Aliyu Baba won the highest goalscorer award and received ₦880,000. Paul Offor was named Best Coach, while Dele Aiyenugba claimed the Best Goalkeeper award. Both earned ₦880,000 each.
Yahaya Hussaini emerged as the Most Valuable Player, and Barnabas Imenger won the Goal of the Season prize.
This triumph marks Sporting Lagos’ first NNL crown and the fifth trophy in the club’s young history since its establishment in 2022.
