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 in Abuja.
The final, played at the Area 3 Football Pitch, saw Customs captain Mikail Abubakar open the scoring with his fifth goal of the competition, securing the Golden Boot award as the tournament’s highest goal scorer.
NIS, led by Coach Jibril Yussuf, attempted to respond before the break, but the Customs defence held firm to preserve the lead into half-time.
Customs, however, took complete control after the restart, with Familola Fatai doubling the advantage before Femi Omodara completed the scoring to seal a comprehensive 3-0 victory for the team.
The triumph saw Customs win all five matches they played in the tournament, underlining their dominance throughout the competition.
In the third-place encounter, Nigeria Air Force (NAF) defeated the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) 2-0, repeating last year’s final fixture but with a different outcome, as NAF avenged its previous defeat to emerge victorious.
Abubakar’s impressive campaign earned him a double individual honour, as he was named both the tournament’s Golden Boot winner and Most Valuable Player.
His Customs teammate, Charles Ahur, was named Best Goalkeeper after a strong showing throughout the competition. Ahur was particularly outstanding in the semi-final against NDLEA, where he saved two penalty kicks, before keeping a clean sheet in the final.
Team NUJ received the Fair Play Award.
Chairman of the tournament’s organising committee, Comrade Ndubueze Chidoka, commended all participating teams and particularly welcomed the debut appearances of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and NIS.
He described Customs as deserving champions, noting that the team won all five of its matches in a competition in which every participating side played at least four games.
Chairman of the NUJ FCT Council, Comrade Grace Ike, also thanked the participating teams, guests and partners for their support throughout the one-week tournament. She was represented at the closing ceremony by her Vice Chairman, Comrade Yahaya Ndambabo.
Ndambabo commended the sportsmanship displayed by the participating teams, describing sports as a unifying force that provided an opportunity for officers and representatives of different organisations to interact beyond their professional responsibilities.
A major highlight of the closing ceremony was the presentation of an award to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Bashir Adeniyi Adewale, 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, represented by the Institute Librarian, Dr. Omoh Asenokhai, was also recognised for his contributions to sports development in Nigeria.
Eight teams participated in the 2026 edition: NUJ FCT Council, Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Air Force, NDLEA, Nigeria Police Force, NTA and FCT Football Coaches Association.
