The Home based African Championship will be played from Saturday January 16th to Sunday, February 7th 2016.
NPL officials also said the pre-season Super 4 competition will now be played between January 20th and 24th, though a venue is yet to be decided, as several state governments including Akwa Ibom State have indicated interests to sponsor the competition.
There were also protest by some players kicking against the commencement of the NPL as they were yet to get their outstanding payments.
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Enyimba are defending champions after they won their seventh championship in November.
Bayelsa United, FC Taraba, Sharks and Kwara United have all been relegated, while Niger Tornadoes, Plateau United, MFM FC and Ikorodu FC won promotion from the lower Nigeria National League (NNL) to the NPL.