From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Aug 2027
Dele Israel hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Market23 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market23 Aug 2027
The fee is $150.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Shooting Stars drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
At 21, Sadiq Auwal is already the best thing here
An average of 7.05 in a first team he is several years too young for. Katsina United have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Market23 Aug 2027
The name of Mujeeb Odifeso has come up in conversations Katsina United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match21 Aug 2027
A 1-0 win over Abia Warriors, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Kelechi Onwe
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch23 Aug 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Katsina United, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Saturday Erimuya keeps the shirt for now, at Katsina United's convenience rather than his own.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Ismail Muhd: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kelechi Onwe commits to Katsina United for another 5 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Dele Israel knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Katsina United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
Pressure builds in the Katsina United boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Saidu Hamisu: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market2 Aug 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Katsina United will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kelechi Onwe and Katsina United agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match31 Jul 2027
Barau made Katsina United work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Moses Adikwu
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Dele Israel asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Match19 Jul 2027
Position 18, 27 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market19 Jul 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Kelechi Onwe gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Umar Yusuf and Katsina United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Sani Faisal left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Sani Faisal will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Joshua Enaholo: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match7 Jul 2027
Wikki Tourists are out and Katsina United go through, 0-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market12 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Katsina United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Kelechi Onwe: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match10 Jul 2027
Beaten 0-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Jun 2027
The bid was some way short and Katsina United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match12 Jun 2027
No end in sight to Katsina United's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Katsina United has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Usman Barau: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 May 2027
Kelechi Onwe: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Katsina United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market17 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Katsina United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
Saidu Hamisu is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Saidu Hamisu: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match21 Apr 2027
Bendel Insurance are out and Katsina United go through, 2-2 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market26 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Mar 2027
Remo Stars left with the points after a 1-2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Kelechi Onwe
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Umar Yusuf commits to Katsina United for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Market8 Feb 2027
The deal that would have taken Joshua Enaholo to El-Kanemi Warriors has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Katsina United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market8 Feb 2027
The bid was some way short and Katsina United did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Kelechi Onwe gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match6 Feb 2027
1-1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Katsina United can pretend not to have heard.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match9 Jan 2027
Beaten 1-2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Uche Collins gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Christopher Richards keeps the shirt for now, at Katsina United's convenience rather than his own.