The logjam that was in the waiting over the commencement of next football season may have been broken following the request from the Nigeria National League (NNL) for the postponement of the planned Super 8 in Aba from Thursday January 3rd to Saturday January 5th.

In a copy of the letter signed by the League Chief Operating Officer (COO), Lawrence Katken seeking for two days postponement of the disputed playoff and addressed to the Glasshouse, it stated that “Sequel to our meeting on 27th December, 2018 held in Lagos we hereby request for the shift of date for the commencement of the Super 8 from the 3rd to 5th January, 2019.

“This is to enable the concerned club’s to effect the resolution of the meeting in good time.”

The action put to rest the stalemate that most pundits had envisaged considering the fact neither of the two bodies, NNL and the Nigeria Professional League Committee (NPFL) was willing to shift its ground while the logjam persist.

The Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko had during the week insisted that January 13th remained the kick off date of the 2018/19 Nigerian Professional Football League season.

In a telephone conversation last night, the media officer of NNL, Amar Ignis confirmed that a meeting between the two bodies held late last year to pave way for the truce has emanated from the initial logjam.

“Contrary to what was painted in the media, there had been meetings and in the end football was the winner and we are glad that our footballers can now go on with their loved profession instead of initial unending feud,” he said.

It could be recalled that the former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National League (NNL), Bukola Olopade, in the heat of the crisis resigned as the CEO of the NNL citing breach of the agreement between the NFF and NNL.

He had insisted having the playoff to produce four teams that will join the professional league rank NPFL is not the solution to the current challenges facing domestic football scene.

The former Commissioner of Sports in Ogun State, opined that the League Management Company (LMC) and Nigeria Professional Football League Club Owners should accept the initial proposal that promotes all the teams to join the 20 existing clubs in the top division to safe the impending logjam.

Olopade who noted that NPFL management has breached an article in LMC statute by agreeing to prosecute the 2018/19 NPFL season with 24 teams whereas it was clearly stated in the LMC statute that only 20 clubs should participate in the NPFL league.

“The organisers, NPFL must also relegate four teams if they are to accommodate four NPFL in the 2018/19,” he argued.

He said further that “NNL equally has the right to reject demotion of eight teams at the end of the season if four NNL teams were promoted to the elite league from the beginning of the season,” he pointed out.

He insisted that if the Super 8 is played, they management of the leagues are merely postponing the doomsday in Nigeria football because the problem is not over yet.

“NPFL must also relegate four teams because at the end of the season eight clubs will be relegated to the NNL and at that time, NNL also has the right to reject and say they cannot accommodate eight clubs when they promoted four clubs,” he pointed out.

The new date proposed by NNL was to allowed all the team’s most especially the clubs that stayed away from the initial playoff a ample time to put their players together for the mini event. 

The stayed away clubs namely Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Bendel Insurance of Benin, Kada FC, Remo Stars and Kogi United had given excuse for staying away on the ground that all their players have travelled for the Christmas holiday.

Meanwhile, NFF is het to redeem the N2million that was promised to the three clubs that honored the earlier date for the playoff. The clubs are Delta Force, Real Stars and Gombe United and the sum was to cover their travel cost to the venue of the mini tournament.