Former Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions Remo Stars were relegated from the top flight on a heartbreaking final day of the 2025/26 season after results elsewhere went against the Ikenne club.
A tense 1-1 draw against Bendel Insurance in Benin was ultimately not enough to preserve their NPFL status, as survival rivals secured crucial victories that pushed the Sky Blue Stars into the relegation zone.
Knowing only a win would offer real hope of survival, Remo Stars approached the closed door encounter with urgency and were rewarded just before halftime when experienced striker Victor Mbaoma fired home his 14th league goal of the season to hand the visitors a valuable lead.
For long periods, safety appeared within reach as Remo Stars held firm under pressure. However, deep into stoppage time, disaster struck when Chijioke Akuneto grabbed a dramatic equaliser for Bendel Insurance to leave the visitors anxiously waiting for results from other grounds.
The tension grew even further as Niger Tornadoes and Warri Wolves both secured victories, leaving Remo Stars hovering just outside safety. Although Kwara United suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat away to already relegated Bayelsa United, their superior goal difference proved enough to keep them above danger.
Attention then shifted to Owerri, where the final match of the day between Kun Khalifat and already relegated Wikki Tourists started late because of a heavy downpour.
With the match in Benin already concluded, Remo Stars fate was no longer in their own hands. Kun Khalifat needed only a point to guarantee survival and condemn the former champions to relegation.
Instead, the visitors produced a decisive performance.
Jonathan Mairiga opened the scoring before the hosts responded through Uchechukwu Onuoha. The drama continued as Lekan Gabriel restored the lead for the Pride of Owerri, only for Onuoha to complete his brace later in the game and seal a result that effectively ended Remo Stars stay in the top flight.
The outcome confirmed Remo Stars relegation to the Nigeria National League (NNL) for the first time since earning promotion back to the NPFL in 2021.
They now join Elkanemi Warriors, Bayelsa United and Wikki Tourists as the four clubs relegated to the second division ahead of next season.
The collapse marks a stunning fall for a club that only last season celebrated one of the greatest achievements in its history after winning the 2024/25 NPFL title. That triumph saw Remo Stars become the first club from Southwestern Nigeria to win the league in 25 years and the first privately owned club to achieve the feat in more than two decades.
Hopes of another competitive campaign had been raised earlier this year when Usman Abd’Allah was appointed Technical Adviser in February. The club described the move as part of a long term vision to elevate performances and strengthen the team’s ambitions.
However, those expectations failed to materialise as inconsistency, defensive struggles and missed opportunities throughout the season eventually proved costly.
What was celebrated as a historic rise just one year ago has now ended in painful relegation, completing one of the most dramatic reversals in recent NPFL history.
