Sporting Lagos F.C.

Sporting Lagos Football Club is a professional football club from Lagos, Nigeria founded in 2022. The club currently competes in the Nigeria National League, the second tier of Nigeria's football league system, following relegation from the 2023–24 Nigeria Premier League. Nicknamed "The Tech Boys", Sporting Lagos played their home games at Mobolaji Johnson Arena also known as Onikan Stadium.

History

Early beginnings

The club was founded on February 3, 2022, in Lagos, Nigeria by Shola Akinlade, Before this there were many clubs in the city, the most popular of which were Ikorodu United FC and Julius Berger FC.

Sporting Lagos played their first match on February 13, 2022, against Go Round FC, which ended in a 1–1. The team finished second in their group in the (NNL) Super Eight playoff in its second season and joined the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) at the start of the 2023–24 season. In 2022 Paul Offor was appointed manager. He led Sporting Lagos to its first Cup title in 2023 and promotion to the NPFL before been sacked in April 2024. He was replaced by Ibrahim Biffo who was also a coach at Kwara United, Katsina United, and Niger Tornadoes.

From NNL to Nigeria Football League (NPFL) (2022 – present)

Sporting secured promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for the 2023/24 season. after a 2-0 victory over Stormers SC in their second game of the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super Eight playoff. before winning the Championship title of the maiden edition of the Naija Super 8 pre-season tournament following a 4–2 victory at local rivals Remo Stars F.C.

In 2023–24, Sporting Lagos were relegated back to the NNL after they lost on the final matchday and finished in 17th place with 46 points. Sporting Lagos drew an average home attendance of 1,180 in the 2023–24 Nigeria Premier Football League.

On 28 June 2025, it was reported that the club's head coach, Shola Adegun, had left his role at the club to join Plateau United F.C. On 10 July 2025, the club confirmed his departure on their website, adding that Jeffery Buter would handle interim training. The club appointed Jeffrey Butter as head coach ahead of the new season.

Colours and badge

Its home colours have been neon blue and pantone blue. When the club was founded in 2022, blue shirts were used until the club adopted its new colour of neon blue and Pantone blue in 2023. The city's symbol was adopted as the club's badge (or crest), and was incorporated into the kit in 2023 during the start of the 2023-24 season.[citation needed]

The Sporting Lagos away jersey has been all yellow shirts and yellow shorts. For the 2024/2025 season the club wore a white away jersey with black trims.

Stadium

Sporting Lagos originally played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in their first season before moving to the University of Lagos Stadium at the end of that campaign. The following season, the club relocated to the Mobolaji Johnson Arena — also known as Onikan Stadium and regarded as the oldest stadium in the country — where they have played ever since. Plans were later announced to build a new club-owned stadium at Landmark, but the project had to be discontinued due to the construction of the coastal highway.[citation needed]

Rivals

Sporting Lagos’ two main rivals are Remo Stars — a rivalry ignited after Sporting Lagos defeated Remo Stars twice in the Naija Super 8 preseason tournament, including in the final to clinch the title — and Ikorodu City, their opponents in the Lagos Derby.[citation needed]

Academy

The Sporting Lagos Football Academy was founded in 2023 and competes in the TCC League and Cup, as well as in the Nigeria Nationwide League (NLO), the third division of Nigerian football. The academy also participated in the NPFL Youth League while the club was in the NPFL.

In the 2023/2024 season, Yusuf Abdullahi, Ugochukwu Emmanuel, Adamu Mukhtar, Seun Akanji and Odinaka Okoro became the first set of academy players to feature for the first team in the Lagos FA Cup. That same season, Odinaka Okoro became the first academy player to represent the first team in an NPFL match, making his debut away against Heartland.

The academy achieved international recognition in 2024, winning the U17 male category of the Gothia Cup in Sweden.

Also in 2024, Edward Ochigbo and Samuel Umoh were invited to the Nigeria U15 team for the 3-Nation U15 Developmental Tournament in Rabat, Morocco. Ebenezer Harcourt and Odinaka Okoro later went on to represent Nigeria at U20 level, and in 2025, Ebenezer Harcourt became the youngest player to represent the Nigeria senior national team, making his debut at the age of 15. [citation needed]

Sponsorship

In 2023, the club revealed a new partnership with Klasha, a cross-border payments, and commerce platform in Africa, as its headline sponsor. At the start of the 2023-24 season, it also unveiled a new club logo and brand launch.

Squad

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Club Staff

Managerial history

External links

• - current results of Sporting Lagos FC matches