Nigerian Football
A new NPFL Board to come alive in four weeks
The Nigeria Football Federation board has ordered a composition of the Nigeria Premier Football league board within the next one month.
It also directed that the boards of the lower leagues should also be constituted.
That was the high point in the communique issued on Tuesday after its Monday meeting in Abuja.
The current Nigeria Premier league is being organised by the Interim Management Committee following the disbandment of the League Management Company which ran the league from the 2012/13 season.
The IMC is currently running what is easily the smoothest league in the country as the rule of law has been strictly upheld.
The upcoming board will be the third time a body will be constituted since a governing body, called the Nigeria Football League was established in the 2005 season and inaugured on 18 January 2005.
The body had a 15-man interim management committee headed by Chief Obaseki. It was inaugurated by the then NFA Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, at the Le Meridian Hotel, Abuja.
The body ran the premier league till the
2012/2013 Season when the NPL board was pronounced illegal by a court.
The NFF then issued the license to organize and regulate the top tier league to the League Management Company (LMC) for the purpose of organizing and promoting the league to meet global technical and commercial standards. The franchise was granted following the near collapse of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) organized by the Nigeria Football League (NFL) which arose from intractable legal, contractual, administrative and financial impediments.
It all began with the composition of an Interim Management Committee, IMC, which in turn supervised the formation and incorporation of the LMC which was owned by the NFF and the participating clubs.
According to the LMC, its promoters were allotted 25% shares in compliance with the provisions of the Nigeria Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.
Thus the NFF boss, as the representative of the association held five per cent of the allotted shares, whilst the Hon. Nduka Irabor as Chairman of the interim League Management Committee had 20% in trust.
The shares held by Irabor on behalf of the LMC were to be relinquished as soon as the Board of the company is appropriately constituted.
A sworn affidavit to this effect was deposited at the rightful public repository.
At first, club officials, nicknamed “Club Owners” kicked against the IMC-turned LMC.
With controversies settled, the league kicked off belatedly nearly four months behind schedule on March 9, 2013.
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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