Heartland Gains Promotion, Return Back to NPFL

Heartland secured promotion to the Nigeria Premier League following a 2-1 win against Sporting Lagos on Wednesday night.

The Naze Millionaires needed a draw to grab the promotion ticket but rallied from a goal down to win the tie.

Kalu Chukwuemeka opened scoring for Sporting on 15 minutes, but Heartland scored twice to win the keenly contested encounter.

The Owerri club joined Sporting Lagos, Kano Pillars and Katsina United in gaining promotion to the NPFL.

They will face Northern Conference winners Kano Pillars in the final of the Nigeria National League Super Eight playoffs on Friday.

The four promoted sides will replace the quartet of El-kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, Nasarawa United of Lafia, Wikki Tourists of Bauchi and Dakkada FC of Uyo, who were relegated from the NPFL at the end of the 2022/23 abridged season.