By Aderonke Ojo
Kada Stars of Kaduna on Wednesday defeated IGP Flickers 5–0 in a dominant performance at the ongoing 2025 National Hockey Super League at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The week-long championship, organised by the Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF) in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC).
Which began on November 1 and will end on November 9 ,2025 at the AstroTurf Hockey Pitch of the stadium.
Kada Stars took control of the match early, with Samaila James opening the scoring in the third minute from a penalty corner.
The Kaduna side continued to press forward, displaying superior pace and coordination over their opponents.
In the 16th minute, Solomon Dennis doubled their advantage with a well-placed field goal, while Ibrahim Elkana added the third in the 27th minute.
Linus Kelvin was also on the scoresheet, converting in the 47th minute to make it 4–0 before Elkana’s late strike in the 50th minute completed the rout.
Despite spirited efforts from IGP Flickers’ Azeez Dosumu, Adams John, and Aliyu Mohammed, they were unable to find a breakthrough, as Kada’s defence and goalkeeper stood firm.
Speaking after the match, Innocent Adamu, head coach of IGP Flickers, admitted his team struggled due to injuries and inexperience.
“To be frank, this match was very tense. The Kada Stars had promised to beat us 15–0, so with God on our side, we managed to keep it at 5–0.
“We have a midfield problem because several of our key players are injured.
“ Most of our current players are young between 16 and 18 years old and just returned from the National Youth Games,” he said.
He noted that Kada stars on the other hand, have an experienced side; almost all 11 players are from the national team and just came back from Egypt where they finished third place,” he said.
Adamu, whose team has so far played five matches winning one, draw two, and losing two said his target now is to finish in fourth or fifth place in the league.
Kada Stars, having earlier thrashed Bauchi 12–0 and are set to face Police Machine on Thursday, while IGP Flickers will take on Plateau Tigers on Thursday.
In other men’s matches, Ekiti Flickers played a goalless draw against IGP Flickers, Plateau Tigers beat Adamawa 7-1,Niger Flickers hammered South West 6-0,Kastina lost to Yobe Desert Rollers 0-5 and Stallions beat Nasarawa 3-2.
The men’s category features 13 teams divided into two pools. Pool A includes Kada Stars, IGP Flickers, Police Machine, Bauchi Flickers, Plateau Tigers, Ekiti Flickers, and Adamawa.
Pool B comprises of Niger Flickers, Nasarawa, Yobe Desert Rollers, South West Stallions, and Katsina Hockey Team.
The women’s category has eight teams; Pool A consists of Kada Queens, Edo Queens, IGP Babes, and Yobe Queens, while Pool B features Plateau Queens, South West, Delta Queens, and Bayelsa Queens.
The winners in both the men’s and women’s categories will represent Nigeria at the Africa Club Championship 2025, scheduled for December, with the host country yet to be announced.
This year’s tournament is also the first official assignment for Simon Nkom, recently re-elected President of the Nigeria Hockey Federation following an election conducted by the NSC on October 25 in Abuja