As the Nationwide League One (NLO) kicks off across Nigeria, Gbagada FC is entering the 2025 season with a clear intention: “Get promoted.” And for the manager, Mr Olajide Akinyelu, this campaign isn’t just about football—it’s about legacy, growth, and putting Gbagada Community on the national football map.
After five seasons of participation in the NLO One, with heartbreaking near misses in 2021 and 2023, Gbagada FC believes this is finally their year. Akinyelu, who won the LSFA Federation Cup Best Coach award in the past, is not holding back about the club’s ambitions. He wants to be the first coach to take a team from Gbagada into the Nigerian National League (NNL), the country’s second-tier competition.
“We’ve been close before,” he said. “But this time, we are going all in.”
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Fresh Faces and Familiar Firepower
A critical part of Gbagada United’s strategy this year lies in its young talent pipeline. Several academy graduates have been promoted to the first team after a solid six-month stint in the TCC League. Akinyelu believes they are ready to rise to the challenge.
“We’ve got exciting players like Alfred Ephenus, Taiwo Akire, and Chinedu Nchoje stepping up. We’ve beefed up the squad, and we’re ready to go,” he said with confidence.
While player departures are inevitable at this level, Akinyelu embraces them as signs of growth rather than setbacks.
“At the end of each season, we review the squad. Those that have enough, we retain them. Those that are not good enough or want to pursue other dreams, we let them go.”
“Also, We lost two of our defenders to international transfer—Segun Alfred and Kelechi Nwosu—to Ken de Bowl FC in Albania. And that’s the point of what we do here: help players build professional careers,” he emphasized. “We’ve prepared decent replacements, so while we’ll miss their personalities, their departures are victories for the club.”
A Team Without Stars, Yet Full of Stars
In typical team-first fashion, Akinyelu avoids singling out any one standout player. Instead, he speaks highly of the entire squad’s unity and shared purpose.
From Captain Biliamin Adekunle in defense to Itunu Olushola and Semiu Fagbayi in attack and the midfield trio of Wasiu Balogun, Gome Namene and Ayuba Lawal, Gbagada FC is built on balance and brotherhood.
“Every starter is important. We’re playing for each other,” Akinyelu stated.
The Mission: Win Everything
The goal for the 2025 NLO season is refreshingly simple and incredibly ambitious: Win all matches, top the group, conquer the playoffs, and gain promotion.
“We’ve come close before, but we’re aiming to finish the job this time,” the coach asserted.
Pushing Through the Grind
While he applauds the NLO’s organization—especially a recent two-day workshop aimed at club development, which was educative and enlightening, as it brought the clubs up to speed on how to be positioned for profitability—Akinyelu remains concerned about the league’s congested fixture schedule.
“Nine games in 21 days is brutal. It’s tough on the players,” he admitted. “But we’ve done this for the past three years. We’ll rotate the squad smartly and manage workloads. Tiredness and burnout won’t stop us.”
As the 2025 season begins, one thing is clear: Gbagada FC isn’t just participating—they’re making a statement.
