{"id":234479,"date":"2025-08-16T07:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T07:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/exclusive-coach-ozebagbe-sets-green-zone-goal-for-ikorodu-city-ahead-of-2025-26-npfl-campaign\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T07:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T07:53:10","slug":"exclusive-coach-ozebagbe-sets-green-zone-goal-for-ikorodu-city-ahead-of-2025-26-npfl-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/exclusive-coach-ozebagbe-sets-green-zone-goal-for-ikorodu-city-ahead-of-2025-26-npfl-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Coach Ozebagbe Sets \u2018Green Zone\u2019 Goal For Ikorodu City Ahead Of 2025\/26 NPFL Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Exclusive: Coach Ozebagbe Sets \u2018Green Zone\u2019 Goal For Ikorodu City Ahead Of 2025\/26 NPFL Campaign<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"mvp-content-main\">\n<h2>Coach Bright Ozebagbe has returned to Ikorodu City FC with a plan that might not sound headline-grabbing at first, but in the unpredictable world of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), it could be the most important goal of all: stay in the <em>\u201cgreen zone\u201d<\/em> for as long as possible.<\/h2>\n<p>For those unfamiliar with the term, the <em>\u201cgreen zone\u201d<\/em> is what coaches call the safe stretch of the NPFL table, far enough from the relegation zone, close enough to dream of climbing higher or even contending for the title.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhen I returned [to Ikorodu City], a new target was set: to remain in the \u2018green zone\u2019 as long as possible. By the end of the season, we will see what that translates into,\u201d<\/em> Ozebagbe told <strong>Naija News<\/strong> earlier today, August 13.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-3 ai-track\" data-ai=\"WzMsMCwiSXNhYWMiLCIiLDRd\" style=\"margin: 8px auto; text-align: center; display: block; clear: both;\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/e\/1FAIpQLSd3GiRw0g6bOS3kAtHb1Yhc5Jic6iTkM9pA5DhIB13uZgDpGQ\/viewform?usp=sharing&amp;ouid=102633326415294296882\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-lazyloaded=\"1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1026109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.naijanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-09-at-16.23.48.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"560\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1026109\" src=\"https:\/\/www.naijanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-08-09-at-16.23.48.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"560\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><\/div>\n<p>This seems like a shift from the ambitions voiced by his predecessor, Nurudeen Aweroro, who left for Shooting Stars Sports Club in July after telling <strong>Naija News<\/strong> that the goal of the Lagos-based club was to challenge for the NPFL title. Ozebagbe, who previously guided Ikorodu City into the NPFL during the 2023-2024 season, is choosing a steadier approach.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIkorodu City is a project, and I\u2019m happy to be part of it. Last season, our aim was to maintain our Premier League status, and we achieved that. I was pleased with the team\u2019s performance. Now, we\u2019re going to set new targets for ourselves,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n<p>Recall that Ozebagbe left Ikorodu City on mutual grounds in the middle of the 2024-2025 season. In his absence, Aweroro led the club to a 4th-place finish with 59 points in 38 games, a point away from continental football.<\/p>\n<p>While away from the Oga Boys, Ozebagbe kept himself busy by taking on a coaching job at Ijobu United in the Nigerian National League (NNL) for a season. He has returned to Ikorodu City amid a restructured coaching setup.<\/p>\n<p>The club\u2019s former fitness trainer, Ali Kandil, has been promoted to head coach, tasked with managing the first team week-to-week, while Ozebagbe focuses on the broader football structure, from youth development to recruitment and long-term planning.<\/p>\n<p>When pressed about his ambitions, the coach brushed aside any suggestion of personal glory.<\/p>\n<p>He said<em>, \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s not about me; it\u2019s about the project. At the end of the day, whatever target or ambition we have for this season will become clear to everyone. I don\u2019t want to make it personal; it\u2019s all about the team. We\u2019ll focus on our collective aims and objectives for the season, and work hard to achieve them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ikorodu City\u2019s survival last season was a quiet success in itself. For a club still cementing its place among Nigeria\u2019s elite, staying in the <em>\u201cgreen zone\u201d<\/em> might not sound glamorous, but in a league where margins are razor-thin, it\u2019s often the difference between long-term growth and starting over from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>And if Ozebagbe\u2019s calm, methodical tone is anything to go by, Ikorodu City\u2019s 2025-2026 NPFL campaign won\u2019t be built on noise, it will be built on staying power.<\/p>\n<h2>Ikorodu City\u2019s track record in the last three years:<\/h2>\n<p>Promotion to NPFL: 2022\/23 season under Bright Ozebagbe.<\/p>\n<p>Last Season\u2019s 4th-place Finish: Avoided relegation by a safe margin, surprisingly ending the campaign as a title contender.<\/p>\n<p>Biggest Win: 6-0 home victory against Katsina United.<\/p>\n<p>Toughest Loss: 4-1 away defeat to Remo Stars<\/p>\n<p>2025-2026 Goal: Maintain NPFL status, contend for the title.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 4 --><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span class=\"copyright\"><strong>\u00a9 2025 Naija News, a division of Polance Media Inc. Contact us via [email\u00a0protected]<\/strong><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>2025-2026 NPFL season, Bright Ozebagbe, Ikorodu City, Nurudeen Aweroro,<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.naijanews.com\/2025\/08\/16\/exclusive-coach-ozebagbe-sets-green-zone-goal-for-ikorodu-city-ahead-of-2025-26-npfl-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exclusive: Coach Ozebagbe Sets \u2018Green Zone\u2019 Goal For Ikorodu City Ahead Of 2025\/26 NPFL Campaign Coach Bright Ozebagbe has returned to Ikorodu City FC with a plan that might not sound headline-grabbing at first, but in the unpredictable world of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), it could be the most important goal of all: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":234480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[986,1576,1120,1577],"class_list":["post-234479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-2025-2026-npfl-season","tag-bright-ozebagbe","tag-ikorodu-city","tag-nurudeen-aweroro"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234479\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}