The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Wikki Tourists have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Wikki Tourists have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The terraces9 Aug 2027
Wikki Tourists spend $360.0K on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $360.0K for Chukwudi Okoro, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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 mood at Wikki Tourists has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
0‑3 to Niger Tornadoes, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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 phone has started ringing about Abdullahi Usman again, and this time the name on the line is Barau. Wikki Tourists are listening politely and promising nothing.
“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 The request is on a desk at Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Barau for Abdullahi Usman 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.
4 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.
Wikki Tourists have gone to Abia Warriors with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Nasarawa United left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
“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 Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with Katsina United, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Aliyu Mamuda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Barau waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Wikki Tourists is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Shuaibu Ibrahim had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Rivers United were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ikorodu City have kept their man, and Wikki Tourists go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Abdullahi Usman and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Shuaibu Ibrahim was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.57. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Chidera Bassey to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Sheriff Amuda is in the works
“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 Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Wikki Tourists have made the call to Ikorodu City. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
Looking aheadWikki Tourists take on the side everybody is chasing
The deal with Ikorodu City is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Wikki Tourists asked and Barau said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Position 19 and 17 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Barau have kept their man, and Wikki Tourists go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 6.89, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Wikki Tourists have made the call to Barau. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all 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 Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wikki Tourists have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Everything agreed with Kano Pillars, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wikki Tourists have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Wikki Tourists and Kwara United, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
4 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 6.90, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 19 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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 are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Naziru Auwalu’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Wikki Tourists needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wikki Tourists, and both men came out saying it was fine.
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Half the programme played, position 19, 15 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Chidera Bassey left the room before anybody could ask which.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
1‑4 against Katsina United, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad3 May 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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 door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout3 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑4 defeat, delivered by Chidera Bassey to a room that had heard them before.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Chizoba Okoh: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Ahmad Lamido, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.03
A mark of 8.03 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.
Sani Ibrahim 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 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ahmad Lamido 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Position 18 and 12 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wikki Tourists have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Aliyu Mamuda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Chidera Bassey after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of 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 Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
El-Kanemi Warriors left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Chidera Bassey left the room before anybody could ask which.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“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 Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Saifullahi Yusuf and Wikki Tourists agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Abdullahi Usman and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 7.95, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Chidera Bassey after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 13 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Chidera Bassey could afford to be generous.
Position 20 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
7 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Adamu Duguri and Wikki Tourists agree another 4 years.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Chidera Bassey after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Shooting Stars next, and one man in the Wikki Tourists dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
In brief
The dugoutAliyu Mamuda knocks on the manager's door
1‑4 to Nasarawa United, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Wikki Tourists are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑4 Chidera Bassey left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wikki Tourists have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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 are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Naziru Auwalu
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Sani Ibrahim and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Wikki Tourists and Rivers United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Aliyu Mamuda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Something was said to Idris Guda and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Remo Stars defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“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 Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Abdullahi Usman 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.
A point taken on 96 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Baggio provided it, and the 9.03 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Baggio scored in the 87th minute, Warri Wolves had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Wikki Tourists took the lot.
38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
“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 Wikki Tourists, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wikki Tourists may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Wikki Tourists close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The deal with Warri Wolves is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Wikki Tourists and Warri Wolves, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
$92.0K settles it between the clubs for Charles Tambe
Kano Pillars have accepted the money. What Wikki Tourists do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
It had gone 8 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Wikki Tourists have made the call to Plateau United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Wikki Tourists have made the call to Katsina United. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
8 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ikorodu City have kept their man, and Wikki Tourists go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Level with 95 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Wikki Tourists had all but put away. Kwara United will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Rivers United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Katsina United have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Sani Ibrahim 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 Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Simeon Habila and Wikki Tourists agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Shuaibu Ibrahim's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Two goals and a mark of 9.05 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Wikki Tourists and Bayelsa United in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Aliyu Mamuda 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.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alex Adeleye has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
“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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Sani Ibrahim 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 Wikki Tourists this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sadeeq Abubakar is on it.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Amiru Maidawa on the training pitch
Sani Ibrahim 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aliyu Mamuda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Idris Guda on the training pitch
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aliyu Mamuda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wikki Tourists, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Obed Ponkap on the training pitch
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Haruna Aliyu is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and John Taiwo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Wikki Tourists have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Sani Ibrahim 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wikki Tourists may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Wikki Tourists, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Wikki Tourists may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutAliyu Mamuda asks for a word with the manager
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sani Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Wikki Tourists will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Sani Ibrahim 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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mansur Barhama has written the date down.
Sani Ibrahim 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aliyu Abubakar 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.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Nobody at Wikki Tourists will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Obed Ponkap has his answer from Wikki Tourists; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Abdullahi Usman has written the date down.
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Wikki Tourists lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 10 signed and 8 gone
That is the business done at Wikki Tourists until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The deal with Warri Wolves is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Wikki Tourists have gone to El-Kanemi Warriors with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rivers United have kept their man, and Wikki Tourists go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A performance of 8.58 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Shuaibu Ibrahim was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.50. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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 Wikki Tourists can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Abia Warriors is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Wikki Tourists and Bendel Insurance in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Marked 8.31 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Aliyu Abubakar was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Wikki Tourists has been clear about where Sani Ibrahim stands, which is more than many ever get.
Wikki Tourists have made the call to Barau. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Bayelsa United go through and Wikki Tourists go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Wikki Tourists have done the hard part with Ikorodu City, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Sani Ibrahim and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Naziru Auwalu 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Shooting Stars is saying, and nobody at Wikki Tourists is enjoying the guessing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Aminu Ajayi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Shehu Ekong has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Etebo Ejuke has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Joshua Nwakali has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
0‑3 against Niger Tornadoes, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Wikki Tourists they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Saifullahi Yusuf has agreed terms with El-Kanemi Warriors for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shuaibu Ibrahim commits to Wikki Tourists for another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Wikki Tourists training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sani Ibrahim 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.
Aliyu Mamuda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.