Nigerian Football
Music icons, Mohbad, Brymo set NPFL Championship Play-off aglow
…Fans to pay gate fees of ₦1000, ₦2000 to access venue
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Championship Play-offs 2022/2023 will be set aglow when Nigerian musical icons Mohbad and Brymo will take the centre stage on Matchday 4 (Friday June 9) and Matchday 5 (June 11) respectively to thrill and entertain fans at Mobolaji Johnson Sports Arena Onikan.
NPFL strategic partners GTI, alongside the Interim Management Committee of the NPFL have so far offered the football fiesta free to fans who thronged the match venue to watch hostilities in Matchdays 1,2 and 3 but has introduced tickets from Friday (Matchday 4) and Sunday (Matchday 5) when musical shows will commence.
GTI/TNFF Head of Media & Publicity, Andrew Ekejiuba told journalists in Lagos that the musical variety is being introduced to spice-up the event that has attracted football fans cum stakeholders within and outside Nigeria.
“On Friday, June 9, which is Match day 4 of the ongoing NPFL championship play-offs, we will be having on the sideline stage, Mohbad, one of Nigeria’s established Afrobeat Hip Hop star performer on parade with his singers and also on Sunday, June 11 for the closing events, Brymo, another big name in the musical industry will take to the stage to thrill fans and stakeholders of the beautiful game in Nigeria.
“We believe a mix of music and football is good for the rebuilding of the NPFL brand by tapping into the appeal of music to our huge youth population to drive the project of restructuring the Nigerian football league,” Ekejiuba said.
He further revealed that the entry to the VIP extension will now attract ₦2000 while the popular terraces will require ₦1000 access fee. Ekejiuba affirmed that access to the VIP Box will be strictly by invitation as only those with the official access tags would be admitted.
The NPFL Championship Play-off results for Matchday 3 on Wednesday, June 7 showed that the fixtures between Remo Stars and Sunshine Stars ended 1-1 apiece; Enyimba and Bendel Insurance played also a 1-1 draw, while Rivers United versus Lobi Stars game ended goaless.
Enyimba and Rivers United are tied at the top on five points after three games while Remo Stars and Bendel Insurance are also tied on three points with Sunshine Stars and Lobi Stars having two points each.
However, for Matchday 4 games slated for Friday, June 9, the opening fixture is between Rivers United and Bendel Insurance at 2pm local time; Lobi Stars will take on Remo Stars immediately after the first game, while Sunshine Stars will square up against Enyimba International of Aba for the last match of the day.
The Play-off will determine the winner of the NPFL 2022/23 season and will also throw up the two teams that will fly Nigeria’s flag at next year’s CAF Champions League, while the third-placed team will be going for the CAF Confederation Cup.
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
NFF Communication director unfolds 20 Points of a 20-hour ordeal on Libyan soil
African football legends, Adebayor and Aubameyang condemn Libya’s treatment of Super Eagles
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode
Breaking! Uzoho suspended from Super Eagles’ next match with Sierra Leone
No longer Super League as CAF changes name of its new clubs competition
AIU releases its report on Tobi Amusan
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Players boycott Libyan national team
-
AFCON5 days ago
Billiat’s penalty seals Zimbabwe’s 1-0 win over Namibia
-
AFCON1 week ago
Facts & Figures as AFCON 2025 qualifiers enter Matchday 3
-
AFCON7 days ago
AFCON 2025 in Morocco: Everything you need to know
-
AFCON6 days ago
Libya’s captain, Faisal Al-Badri alleges poor treatment in Nigeria
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
CAF compels Kwasi Appiah to step down from Ghana FA
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
Fastest World Cup final scorer is dead!
-
AFCON1 day ago
BREAKING! CAF wades into the Libya-Nigeria Airport episode