The 2023 Nationwide League One season will now officially commence on Wednesday, May 3.

The start date for the new Nationwide League One season has been changed for the second time in order to ensure that all parties involved are satisfied.

According to an update from the Secretariat of the country’s third-tier football competition, the kick off date has been moved forward by a week.

The NLO Congress has decided to return to the Stadium League Format, which was adopted in February but vetoed due to security, economic, and political challenges in the country.

Its statement noted that the new schedule would provide a more secure and economically beneficial environment for all participating teams.

“All is still in top gear to commence the season without hitches in terms of the logistics we have put in place for the Stadium League Format,” said the NLO’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Olushola Ogunnowo.

“On the other hand, a few clubs have slowed our activities as they were yet to complete their player’s registration processes.

“Players registration by all the clubs before the kickoff of the season, is imperative to the NLO, as it’s never our norm to start the season with a fire brigade approach.

“We also considered the knockout football competition, Federation Cup which is at the Round of 32 stages. A few NLO teams are still in the race for the trophy, so it won’t be fair if the Secretariat doesn’t consider such teams when releasing the fixtures for the season.

“Having moved the commencement date by a week, we are certain that the affected clubs will use this window to finalize their player’s registration for the season,” Ogunnowo concluded.