Connect with us

Nigerian Football

WHO OWNS NIGERIA FOOTBALL: THE INVESTOR OR THE PROMOTER?

blank

Published

on

blank

On Thursday August 30, the congress of the Nigeria professional football league rose from a meeting in Abuja and decided among other things, to end the league abruptly in week 24, citing CAF’s deadline for registration of continental teams as reason for their action. 

The NPFL Congress also crowned Lobi stars of Makurdi champions of the 2017/2018 football season while also declaring that all 20 NPFL club sides will stay put in the division, meaning no team will be relegated while four will be promoted from the NNL, to increase the number of participating teams in the 2018/2019 season to 24. 

These decisions were greeted with mixed reactions at birth. While some vehemently criticized the move, others felt it was the best solution under the present circumstance. 

The Nigeria National league on their part frowned at the manner with which the elite league came to these hasty conclusions without properly consulting with the NNL, to allow both league bodies properly work out the best possible solution going forward. 

Based on what they describe as disrespect to the lower league, the congress of the NNL, decided that, since the NPFL in it’s wisdom refused to relegate the four bottom teams in accordance with the rules guiding the conduct of the league, they are proposing that eight teams be promoted to the NPFL, jettisoning the season ending Super Eight, a competition that decides the best four teams in the division.  

The timely intervention of the NFF Executive committee meeting in Asaba failed to find any meaningful solution rather what followed was a detailed communiqué from the NNL Congress in Abuja which clearly points out their position and paved the way for a potential crisis that may drag on for months.

Advertisement

Many may not understand the implication of what their actions or inactions may be leading Nigeria football to, but the strongmen in the NNL, clearly understand the game and are ready to play it to extra time and possibly penalties. 

There is more to all of these than meets the eyes. The events of the last few weeks are the consequences of bottled hatred, anger, bitterness and conflict of interests between two league bodies that have never done things in common in the last two years. 

At the start of the current football season, the NNL went cap in hands to the LMC, requesting for financial support to conduct their pre season congress and play the first few games of the 2017/2018 season. 

Promises were actually made, but were never fulfilled. This was where the problems began. 

From that day, till date, the NPFL and NNL have lived like cat and mouse; they have gone about their activities with lots of bitterness and hatred, waiting for that day when they can pour out their bottled anger. 

Advertisement

This latest crisis provides a perfect setting for war and has been fully ignited by the resignation of Bukola Olopade, the hardworking and erudite Chief Executive officer of the NNL who resigned earlier this week, setting the ball rolling for what promises to be the mother of all crises. 

  For a man who single handily brought in sponsorship deals worth over 300m naira to a league that had one leg in the grave after the exit of chief Emeka Inyama in 2016, it is very difficult to question his decision to take a bow when it became obvious that things are no longer done the way they should be done. 

Olopade is not one man that can be taken for a ride, he is presently one of, if not, the biggest sports marketer in the country as available statistics shows that the former Ogun State commissioner for sports has generated over 600 million naira from corporate sponsorship of the Assess bank Lagos Marathon, an event that started as child’splay but has suddenly become a mainstay in the Nigeria athletics federation calendar. 

The chairman and chiefexecutive officer of Remo Stars FC of Ogun State, Otunba  Kunle Soname is another individual who has invested so much in the round leader game and will not allow some persons who  make money from the system rubbish a reputation that has taken him years of hard work to build. 

The owner of Bet9ja, is presently one of the biggest investor in Nigeria sports especially football. Soname is one of Nigeria’s human capital developer and strong investor in grassroots sports.  His company Bet9ja has been the title sponsor of the NNL for close to three years and to imagine that such a man is not taken into consideration by the NPFL before arriving at their decision not to relegate,has left him to carefully rethink his investments and possibly decide what next. 

Advertisement

His club is the first of six, to pull out of the proposed NNL Super 8 starting at the Enyimba international stadium Aba, Abia State on the 14th of this month. 

Like Remo Stars, Kaduna-based KADA City FC have also decided not to take part in the competition in solidarity with the other four teams who feel seriously bitter that things are not being done properly and must be corrected for peace to reign. 

The unfortunate side to this is that it has provided a platform for all aggrieved persons that have scores to settle with the NFF to key into the latest crisis and voice their anger. 

From the grapevine, we understand that the Nigeria sports minister Solomon Dalung has expressed his readiness to uncover the true story behind this crisis and see if he could possibly get the chance to finally nail his long time enemies.  

Like Dalung, there are others fanning the embers of war. They are the forces behind the stubborn stance from some of these club sides who have now offered themselves as a ready made too of confusion. 

Advertisement

The bone of contention here however is that those who genuinely invest their money in the league or those who have gone out of their ways to attract sponsorship for the league now feel they deserve equal rights in the running and administration of the game they have given so much to.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Nigerian Football

Season’s first win for Akwa United and Ikorodu City

blank

Published

on

blank

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.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Nigerian Football

Behold! Nigeria Football’s October 8 Magic

blank

Published

on

blank
Nigeria’s Godwin Iwelumo terrorising Egypt’s goalmouth 47 years ago in an October 8 match. Nigeria won 4-0 inflicting the worst ever defeat on Egypt in a World Cup qualifier.

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.

Advertisement

 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!

Advertisement

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.
Continue Reading

Nigerian Football

 Rivers flow to the top!

blank

Published

on

aed55841-rivers-united.png

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

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Most Viewed