Ranchers Bees End 16-Year NPFL Exile After Conference D Title

Kaduna’s Ranchers Bees have secured promotion back to the Nigeria Premier Football League after 16 years outside the top flight, finishing as Conference D winners in the Nigeria National League with 20 points from 11 matches.

A 2-0 win over Kebbi United FC on Wednesday sealed the deal. Beyond Limits, Akwa United and Doma United claimed the other three conference titles to complete the promoted quartet.

The return carries real weight for a club with deep roots in Nigerian football. Founded in 1974 and based at the Kaduna Township Stadium, Ranchers Bees last played top-flight football in the 2009–10 season. Their history stretches back to 1983, when — then known as DIC Bees — they reached the Nigerian Cup final and competed at the highest level. A WAFU Cup triumph in 1989 cemented their standing as one of the north’s premier clubs, and the academy produced players including former Super Eagles striker Daniel Amokachi.

Financial and administrative difficulties saw the club gradually slip down the divisions over the following decades. This promotion, then, is more than just a return to the NPFL — it’s the revival of a name that once meant something in Nigerian football, and now has the chance to mean something again.