The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aminu Mohammed and Kano Pillars agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 94 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Aminu Sani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Williams Yikat has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aminu Mohammed. 1‑0 against Ikorodu City, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
In brief
SquadIsaiah Ejeh falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 117 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 133 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaiah Ejeh is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It needed Abdullahi Abubakar to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Plateau United, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The words a physio says slowly. 140 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 92th minute. Nasarawa United will replay every second of the added time for a week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Isaiah Ejeh falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
A 1‑0 win over Niger Tornadoes, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Sulaiman Salisu has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Isaiah Ejeh falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Williams Yikat is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Kano Pillars has been clear about where Aminu Sani stands, which is more than many ever get.
Position 1, 24 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Isaiah Ejeh falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Aminu Mohammed has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaiah Ejeh is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The words a physio says slowly. 42 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Mustapha Umar, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.77
A mark of 7.77 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Kano Pillars have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Aminu Sani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Abuchi Okeke has his answer from Kano Pillars; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Isaiah Ejeh falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 65 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aminu Mohammed and Kano Pillars agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Wikki Tourists defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kano Pillars lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mustapha Umar did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Kano Pillars
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaiah Ejeh is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Mustapha Umar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 97 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kano Pillars have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kano Pillars, and it is not being withdrawn.
In brief
SquadWords at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 127 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Matías Villalba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Usman Fahad is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Villalba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Matías Villalba was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ahmed Musa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nicolás Ramírez provided it, and the 7.70 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kano Pillars can pretend not to have heard.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Kano Pillars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Villalba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Gil Vicente arrived with $800.0K and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Junior Aliyu was one of the reasons people came, and $800.0K does not replace that by itself.
Abuchi Okeke was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Somtochukwu Nwobodo has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Kano Pillars have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The offer from AS Police for Abuchi Okeke was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kano Pillars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Junior Aliyu has come up in conversations Kano Pillars were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Usman Fahad falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.