Nigerian Football
It’s New Era for Nigeria’s Nationwide League
Another milestone will be achieved in third tier of football leagues in Nigeria as the Nationwide League One (NLO) is set to unveil the title sponsors of the league.
The event is slated for Wednesday at Top Rank Hotel, in Opebi, Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State.
The chairman of the league body, Mohammed Alkali described forthcoming occasion as a new dawn in the development of the game at the grass root level. He hoped that the noble partnership will bring more benefits to the players, stakeholders in the league and even the fans.
“We are glad that we will be unveiling the title sponsors of the Nationwide League and this will pave way for a new development of the round leather game at the cradle of football in Nigeria,” he said.
He added that “the Nationwide League has been in discussion with Pipul TV, an indigenous Pay TV company in Nigeria and we will be unveiling the sponsorship package to football loving Nigerians this Wednesday”
In a related development, Shola Ogunnowo, the Chief Operating Officer of the league, said that the Nationwide League will improve on the quality and the organisation of the league, as he praised some of its clubs that played the finals of their respective states F.A. Cup.
He particularly singled out the efforts of Spartans FC of Agege, a Nationwide League club that played the final of Lagos State F.A. Cup on Sunday against MFM, losing 3-1 to the premier league side.
“We hope to improve the organisation of the league and the quality of the football. The NLO clubs have actually done well and some of the clubs even played the final of their States F.A. Cup like Spartans FC that lost the F.A. Cup final in Lagos to MFM FC.
“The team lost 3-1, but we are very happy with the progress of Spartans FC and other NLO clubs in the Federation,” Ogunnowo said.
Meanwhile, the local rivalry between MFM FC and Spartans FC will continue on Wednesday evening when the Feeder team of MFM FC file out against Spartans FC at the Agege Township Stadium, a game that promises to be a thrilling encounter as the battle of supremacy between the two Agege based teams goes to the Nationwide League arena in the star match of the Week One of the 2016/17 season.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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