We report on the first week of Nigeria’s biggest amateur football tournament, organized by the global bookmaker 1xBet.
In and out
Let us remind you that the play-in round has begun, with 64 teams competing. They faced serious competition already at the registration stage, as the organizers received more than 450 applications to participate in the 1xCup 2025. The 16 winners of the play-in round will join FC BETHEL Academy, Community Gunners FC, Emaljus FC and Emiloju FC, who have qualified automatically as the best teams of the 1xCup 2024.
Sunset
On July 8, China Sunstar FC and Melody FC had the honor of playing in the opening match. Last year, Sunstar fell just short of advancing from the group stage, but this time the team was eliminated by their first opponent. Melody FC played like a well-oiled machine and won 2–1.
“For us, it was more than just a match. We wanted to perform better than last season, and now we’re back to show how much we’ve grown. This first victory is very symbolic and important for us — our team has proven that we’ve done a good job over the past year. But we understand that this is only the beginning, and the main games are still ahead. We thank the fans for their support,” a spokesperson for Melody FC said.
Failed to dominate
During the first week of the 1xCup 2025, 11 games were played. Here are the results:
- Dominion Hotspur FC v Divine Praise FC – 0-0, 3-5 on penalties
- Ikorodu City FC v Lapero Int. FC – 3-1
- G12 FC v Dolphin FC – 2-1
- 36 Lion FC v Kabsil FC – 4-1
- Nath Boys FC v Goal Getters FC – 1-0
- Diadem Stallion v Backnor FC – 1-1, 4-2 on penalties
- Chekas FC v Believe FA – 0-2
- Collins Edwin FC v Crusaders FC – 2-1
- Ighalo FC v Seraphic FC – 1-0
- Dosu Joseph FC v BYT Academical FC – 3-0
- G-Innovation v Depros FA – 3-0
The biggest sensation of the play-in round was the elimination of Dominion Hotspur FC. Last year’s quarter-finalists failed to break through the defense of Divine Praise FC and lost in a penalty shootout. The other participants of the 1xCup 2024 quarter-finals made it through the first round, but it wasn’t easy – Collins Edwin FC got a narrow victory, and Diadem Stallion had to engage in a penalty shootout, but were more successful than Dominion Hotspur FC.
Ighalo FC defeated their first opponent thanks to a single goal. We’d like to remind you that they were the runners-up of the first 1xCup tournament and got eliminated in the Wild Card stage last year. Other teams known from the 1xCup 2024 also managed to win: Wild Card stage participants Dosu Joseph FC and 36 Lion FC, as well as Ikorodu City FC and G12 FC, who were eliminated in the group stage a year ago.
The second week of the 1xCup 2025 is just around the corner. Find out about the latest sensations and the hottest matches on the official tournament website 1xcup.ng and social media.
1xCup 2025 – Your Community, Your Cup.
