The 2022/23 abridged Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season has come with some surprises from two newly-promoted teams who were previously unknown. Bendel Insurance of Benin and Doma United of Gombe have defied the odds and taken the league by the storm, recording unprecedented feats in the top flight as well as in their histories.
The Benin Arsenal, Bendel Insurance, ended the 18-game regular season unbeaten and top of the table from start to finish, while the Savannah Tigers, Doma United, came within a few points of picking a Super 6 playoff ticket.
At the beginning of every season in the NPFL, there are usually favourites for the revered continental positions and the title. In this season, two newly-promoted clubs have stunned the league by performing admirably well which took everyone by surprise.
As an NNL club, Bendel Insurance set a standard by securing a partnership with a new generation bank and also capped the wages of their players in tandem with their counterparts in the NPFL. With that in place, it was not surprising to see them gain promotion to the NPFL, winning the second-tier title as well, last season.
Government clubs are naturally expected to thrive in the NPFL which is often determined by how financially buoyant the state is. Insurance’s unbeaten run in the regular season could be attributed to the fact that the state has the capability to meet their financial needs.
Having featured in the abridged league in 2019, when they were relegated back to the NNL, Insurance’s fate was perfectly poised for struggle, as they found themselves competing in a challenging Group A. Nevertheless, their first game was a 2-0 away win over Akwa United in Uyo. They went on to finish the regular season with 34 points from eight wins and ten draws, conceding the least number of goals — 11. Their goalkeeper and vice-captain, Amas Obasogie, kept eight clean sheets which was the joint highest in the campaign.
Doma United is tasting Nigerian top-flight football for the first time and is owned by the state government. In their first attempt in the second division, they gained promotion to the NPFL, despite still being a relatively young club with little-known players. Before the start of the season, there were rumours that the club was going to sell their NPFL slot to either Kano Pillars or Katsina United, who were both relegated in the previous season, suggesting that they were not prepared for life in the topflight.
Their first game in the league ended in a 1-1 draw at home against Sunshine Stars at the Pantami Stadium. They later won two of their next four games with two away draws sandwiched between them. In the second stanza of the league, after two consecutive victories, they were already within the top three and needed just few points to solidify their place among the contenders for the continental tickets and the title.
Sadly, they missed the chance to qualify for the Super 6 playoffs because of a goalless draw at home against Enugu Rangers and a 2-0 defeat on match-day 18 against Abia Warriors. They ended up in fifth place in Group B with 26 points from 18 games.
Notwithstanding, Doma United retained their NPFL status and also proved doubters wrong. As a modest club looking forward to more partnerships, the hope is that their outstanding debut season will pave the way for more opportunities and stability for the club.
Both Insurance and Doma United have shown that lesser-known clubs can compete alongside the big boys in the NPFL. Hopefully, there will be many more seasons to come with more surprises yet to unfold in Nigerian football.
