By George Ozalla
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) football team have emerged champions of the 2026 Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT Football Tournament after defeating the National Institute for Sports (NIS) 3-0 in the final played at the Area 3 Football Pitch in Abuja.
The tempo of the final was steady in the opening stages until Customs captain, Mikail Abubakar, broke the deadlock with his fifth goal of the competition, a strike that also cemented his position as the tournament’s highest goal scorer.
NIS tried to fight back before the break, but the Customs defence soaked up the pressure and held on to take the narrow lead into half-time.
The second half saw the Customs side take control of the proceedings, with Familola Fatai wasting no time in putting the ball past NIS goalkeeper, Orban Osas, to extend the lead to two goals before Femi Omodara added the third to seal the 3-0 victory for Customs.
The victory completed a remarkable run for the Customs team, who won all five matches they played in the competition.
In a repeat of last year’s final, the 2025 runners-up, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), suffered a 2-0 defeat to the 2025 champions, the Nigeria Air Force (NAF).
Abubakar’s five goals earned him the Golden Boot award, while the Customs captain was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. His teammate, Charles Ahur, was named Best Goalkeeper for his outstanding performance, having saved two penalty kicks in the semi-final against NDLEA before keeping a clean sheet in the final.
Team NUJ received the Fair Play Award.
Chairman of the organising committee, Comrade Ndubueze Chidoka, appreciated all the teams that participated in the tournament, particularly the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and NIS, which made their debut in this year’s competition.
Chidoka said the Customs team deserved the championship after winning all five matches they played, while noting that the standard of the competition was high, as every participating team played at least four matches.
Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, thanked the participating teams and guests who turned out in large numbers for the one-week event. Ike, who was represented by her Vice Chairman, Comrade Yahaya Ndambabo, commended the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by the teams throughout the competition, noting that the tournament provided an opportunity for participants to interact and build relationships outside their regular professional engagements.
Ndambabo said sports remained a unifying force, pointing to the manner in which teams exchanged pleasantries after matches and officers and representatives of corporate organisations interacted during the tournament.
Other highlights of the event included the presentation of an award to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General, Samuel Onikeku.
The Director-General of the National Institute for Sports, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, who was represented by the Institute Librarian, Dr. Omoh Asenokhai, was also recognised for his contribution to sports development in Nigeria.
Eight teams participated in this year’s competition. They were the Nigeria Union of Journalists FCT Council, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Air Force, NDLEA, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Television Authority and FCT Football Coaches Association.
