Just three years ago, Akwa United were the standard-bearers of Nigerian football—NPFL champions, admired for their structure, style, and upward trajectory.
Today, they find themselves teetering on the edge of relegation, their hopes resting not only on their own performance but on a complex and unlikely set of outcomes elsewhere.
Matchday 37 clash saw a 2-0 win over Bayelsa United in Uyo—a result that, in isolation, was a respectable one. Goals from Endurance Ebedebiri, calmly dispatching a penalty, and Osoba Kabir, striking deep into stoppage time, secured their 12th victory of the campaign.
The full-time whistle brought little cause for celebration. At best, the victory offered a brief reprieve. At worst, it merely delayed the inevitable.
Akwa United sit 18th in the Nigeria Premier Football League, with 44 points from 37 matches. Their record of 12 wins, 8 draws, and 17 losses paints the picture of a season marked by inconsistency and underachievement.
Even with victory in their final game away to Heartland FC, survival is not guaranteed.
Akwa United team for an NPFL 2025 match in Uyo. Photo Credit: Akwa United Media
They’ve managed just a single win on the road all season, and they’ll need more than a bit of luck to turn their fortunes around—prayers, plenty of them, and perhaps a stretch of fasting too.
For a side more renowned for its devout pre-match rituals than its performances on the pitch, divine intervention might be their best hope yet.
Three other fixtures will directly influence their fate:
Sunshine Stars vs El-Kanemi Warriors
Niger Tornadoes vs Kano Pillars
Katsina United vs Kwara United
Should El-Kanemi and Niger Tornadoes both win at home, Akwa United’s result in Owerri becomes irrelevant—they’ll be relegated alongside Heartland FC, joining already-doomed Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars in the Nigeria National League (NNL).
For a club of Akwa United’s stature—backed by ₦40 million monthly state subvention and possessing a top-tier infrastructure such a scenario is as damning as it is surreal.
A Long History of Highs and Heartbreaks
This is not the first time Akwa United have stood at this crossroads. After earning promotion to the top flight in the 2007/08 season thrashing Calabar Rovers 13–0 on the final day they suffered a dramatic relegation the very next year, edged out on goal difference after Kaduna United’s improbable 9-0 victory over Zamfara United.
That season saw them go through three managers—Ime Uko, Godwin Uwah, and Patrick Udoh before the axe eventually fell.
Stability arrived in 2015, when veteran sports journalist Elder Paul Bassey was appointed chairman midway through the 2015/16 season by then-Governor Udom Emmanuel.
The Promise Keepers all conquering 2021 starting XI against MFM in Uyo. Photo Credit: X
Under Bassey’s stewardship, the club entered its golden era—winning two Federation Cups and clinching the NPFL title in 2021 under manager Kennedy Boboye.
Despite being recently appointed Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Sports by current Governor Pastor Umo Eno, Elder Paul Bassey remains the chairman of Akwa United, he continues to oversee the club affairs during this turbulent chapter.
The club has endured a turbulent three seasons, sacking multiple managers in a bid to find stability. Deji Ayeni replaced title-winning coach Boboye but failed to reach the Super Six.
His successor, Fatai Osho, managed just three wins in 13 games amid complaints about poor squad quality. Mohammed Babaganaru then salvaged last season with 49 points but started the 2024/25 campaign poorly—recording just 4 wins in 16 games—leading to his dismissal.
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Boboye returned after leaving Sunshine Stars due to interference but has struggled in his second spell, registering 7 wins, 3 draws, and 7 losses in 17 matches so far.
Boboye speaking to Akwa United players during a training session. Photo Credit: Akwa United Media
For all the resources at their disposal, Akwa United have crumbled under the weight of poor decision-making, inconsistent recruitment, and tactical incoherence. Their defensive frailty has been glaring, their away form abysmal.
Ebedebiri and Kabir have provided fleeting sparks of brilliance chipping in with five and six league goals respectively—it has done little to mask the deeper flaws within the side.
The club that once dictated matches now clings to results. The team that once hunted titles now hopes for miracles.
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It is often said in football that hope is not a strategy. And yet, that is all Akwa United can rely on heading into the final day. A win in Owerri is essential, but it may prove meaningless if other results go against them. This is not merely a sporting challenge—it’s a psychological one.
Elder Paul Bassey (R) and Samuel Umoh FA Chairman Akwa Ibom state (L). Photo Credit: The Athletic Images
To find themselves here, again, one season removed from another last-day escape, is a scathing indictment of the club’s failure to evolve beyond short-term fixes.
Final Judgement Awaits
On 25 May, Akwa United will line up at Dan Anyiam Stadium knowing their Premier League future could be decided miles away—in Maiduguri, Kaduna, or Katsina. Their destiny is no longer their own.
From champions to chancers, the club’s transformation has been as swift as it has been tragic, unless the stars align, Akwa United could find themselves in the unfamiliar, unwanted territory of the second tier once more—relegated not by one poor decision, but by the cumulative cost of seasons mismanaged.
In football, survival should be earned. For the Promise Keepers, it must now be gifted.
