Every year the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season starts with an anticipation of having an improved and better season than the previous one but with the recent issues affecting the whole league, abrupt ending of the league, delayed resumption, crowd violence and poor officiating, it looks like all stakeholders across all boards have a hand in the “one step forward two steps backward” development spiral that the league experiences each time and as such finding a lasting solution may require the involvement of all.


The struggles and political saga of Nigerian football in the year 2018 and its adverse effect on the local league have been very well documented. Across the duration that the power tussle between Chris Giwa and Amaju Pinnick lasted and into the period of frequent cancellation and postponement of the Super 8 to decide the newly promoted teams into the NPFL 2018/2019 season, a lot of issues affecting the development of league football underground that was before now given little cognizance were brought to the fore.


Apart from the League Management Company (LMC) having it’s fair share of blames for lack of sponsors and indecision in the face of cogent issues which arise from the League week in week out, clubs for their unprofessional way of doing things in a league dubbed “professional”, poor brand management, selfish interest and fans having unwavering flair of sabotage and violence during match games at different match venues contribute to the already numerous canker-worms that eat into the NPFL body.


While applauds must be given to LMC chairman Sheu Dikko and his committee in the way they have steered the ship of the league since their take over years ago, it must be said that despite the initial progress in the early years when the NFF issued the license to organize and regulate the top tier league to them in 2012 for the purpose of organizing and promoting the league to meet global technical and commercial standards, the league has regressed badly in recent years.



From losing the broadcast partnership with Supersport in early 2017 and failing to secure another broadcasting deal to later awarding the rights to Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in September of the same year, the LMC has continually proceeded to make decisions that plunge the league into deeper problems.

Not only did the NTA deal reveal the reality of the impact and importance of Supersport in beaming the league to the world but it also saw the league move slowly into broadcasting darkness and void with poor picture quality and abysmal broadcast last season to totally being off air all together in the new season.

Another poor decision by the LMC was to all goes the league go on break during the 2018 FIFA World Cup when the league had only one player at the world cup in Ikechukwu Ezenwa whose absence would not have made any difference in the league for his team. Moreover, the league could have continued with the world cup on and reached the concluding stages before Giwa/Pinnick brouhaha came to the fore and held all footballing activity to a standstill.

The impact of selfish interest and poor management of Nigerian club sides were clear and evident when a meeting was called against the backdrop of the adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country, which resulted in the indefinite suspension of the resumption of the (NPFL) leading to huge fixture congestion for both league and cup competitions.



Decisions were made and Lobi Stars were declared the country’s representative in next season’s CAF Champions League, no teams to be relegated and four to be promoted from the NNL and despite the various available alternatives, the decision was made to favour all participants for selfish reason of avoiding relegation and at the detriment of the league.

Promotion playoffs from the Nigeria National League was delayed as NNL clubs held the NPFL and the whole country to ransom in a bid to see all 8 teams in the top two places of all four groups of the NNL promote without playoffs, using the adverse situation experienced in the administration of football in the country to push for their agenda.

If successful, the NNL would have rendered the 2018/2019 NPFL congested with 28 teams although LMC in their own have to share the blame for diverting from the initial playoff plans to promise all 8 teams NPFL promotion without playoffs during a period of indecision and lack of direction by the league body.

However, by the time Nigerian Football Federation stepped into the issue and agreements made to finally play the promotion playoffs, the league kick-off had already been delayed beyond schedule with the LMC reluctant to punish erring clubs, later handing them to a committee to impose disciplinary actions on the 5 clubs who were threatening to pull out, a decision that nothing has been heard or have been done by the said committee since then.


Furthermore, Nigerian club sides are still incompetent in fully utilizing the potentials of social media and proper branding of their teams and players. While a few having been impressive with branding and social media presence like Enyimba, Rivers United, Akwa United, Remo stars just to mention a few, other NPFL clubs have social media handles that are not well utilised in reaching out to fans, yet there are complaints of fans not attending games, contract details are still shady, mass release and recruitment of players are still very much around.

The laughable condition of club medical process uploaded by Katsina United, an image of an unidentified player laying face-up on an unhealthy foam evoked mixed feeling from football fans and analysts — a strong blend of wonder and profound dissatisfaction. The player had the sensory devices snared to his chest but warily wasn’t furnished with a bed with sheets. A big disgrace when compared to what is found in Europe and some other African leagues.



Logistics of players, welfare and payment of salaries need to be well documented and better prepared, Lobi stars despite been considered Nigerian champions in the 2017/2018 season and representatives in the CAF Champions league had a ludicrous logistics arrangements ahead of their away game to ASEC Mimosas with official Club Jerseys left behind while the team travelled to Ivory Coast.

All in all, it will take a lot of work from the LMC and clubs to bring a bulk of fans who are glued to English Premier League and other European football league craze back to the stadia where provision of security is poorly handled in some match centres or totally unavailable as seen in Plateau United on Matchday 1 of the new season where the pitch encroached and the referee beaten. Painfully enough the LMC acts like a toothless Lion which roars but never pounce, while banishing Plateau United can be commended coupled with the fines, it may be worthy of note that the league body will not follow up to ensure the team pays the fines as the banishment to Ilorin for the next few home games will be the punishment served by the team.

Unfortunately, the clubs involved would do little to ensure the culprit is brought to book, neither will they put up measures to avoid a repeat of such scenarios, that is why Remo stars should be commended for actively condemning the violence against the referee in their 1-1 draw against Insurance on Sunday with several social media messages and ensuring they provided the culprit to the security agencies on ground. LMC up until the time of filling this write up is yet to comment on the issue.

Publicity of the games by the clubs is sometimes none existent if the job done by the Nigerian media is subtracted. Poor officiating from referees is still raising it’s ugly head despite the 5 years ban of match officials if found guilty agreed upon by the LMC and NPFL clubs before the season starts.



However, the LMC needs to find a lasting solution to tackling crowd violence beyond fines and banishments of teams also they need to be proactive and ensure that punishments are served latest 24hrs to teams whose fans and officials go against the rules of the league. The Nigerian Referee Association also need to contribute its quota in reducing poor officiating from its officials, although it must be said that poor officiating under no circumstances justifies crowd violence against any match officials.



If the above is solved, then violence in stadiums can be treated with sensitization of fans, a new TV deal needs to be agreed upon as soon as possible as this will enlighten and bring the league closer to the locals and as the LMC continue to work out on ways to move the league forward. The NPFL will definitely move forward albeit slowly, as it is popularly said all hands must be on deck and with the issues facing the Nigeria Professional Football League, LMC’s hands alone are not enough.



#SuportTheNPFL


Source: https://cheapgoals.com/solving-npfl-niggling-issues-beyond-lmc-alone/

Sponsorship
Sponsorship
Sponsorship

That's all they need. But who will be willing to invest in an unstable league that's fraught with cheating and match fixing that hardly ever records any away win?

dominique:
Sponsorship
Sponsorship
Sponsorship

That's all they need. But who will be willing to invest in an unstable league that's fraught with cheating and match-fixing that hardly ever records any away win?

Before any major moneybags dive in, the league management needs to let it be worth sponsoring. no sponsor wants to waste funds on such.

cheapgoals:


Before any major moneybags dive in, the league management needs to let it be worth sponsoring. no sponsor wants to waste funds on such.

A lot of things are wrong with the league, the fans also have a share of the blame. I heard most of them don't pay to watch matches live in the stadium. They have ways of wriggling themselves in. Lets not talk about crowd violence, they need to know that it's not their teams birth right to win at home. Even referees are scared to award a visiting team penalty because of crowd violence. It will take a lot of work before the league gets attractive to sponsors

Dont be surprised that players and official
abandon league matches to watch chelsea or Man U matches

we know Amaju Pinnick is the next, fire him and put another Fulani man

dominique:


A lot of things are wrong with the league, the fans also have a share of the blame. I heard most of them don't pay to watch matches live in the stadium. They have ways of wriggling themselves in. Lets not talk about crowd violence, they need to know that it's not their teams birth right to win at home. Even referees are scared to award a visiting team penalty because of crowd violence. It will take a lot of work before the league gets attractive to sponsors

You're so right ma'am. Reason the issue is beyond LMC

we need to remove politics From sports in Nigeria to see our sport grow.

am Tired of talkinh everyday about d same issue in d NPFL SINCE 2015 NO CHANGE

dominique:


A lot of things are wrong with the league, the fans also have a share of the blame. I heard most of them don't pay to watch matches live in the stadium. They have ways of wriggling themselves in. Lets not talk about crowd violence, they need to know that it's not their teams birth right to win at home. Even referees are scared to award a visiting team penalty because of crowd violence. It will take a lot of work before the league gets attractive to sponsors

People (fans) will always misbehave when there are no rules and regulations; there are certain safety measures you take before a match but our club sides tend to ignore them. The LMC have a lot to do in ensuring these measures are strictly adhered to.
And on the part of the Referees, the bribes they’ve accepted will not make them make fair calls, sometimes I don’t feel sorry for them when assaulted.

Topmaike007:
we need to remove politics From sports in Nigeria to see our sport grow.

you cannot separate politics from sports, they must go together.

God Bless this Op. It is disheartening seeing the way our league development has been extremely slow. To me I still believe the major problems lie with the LMC, you’ll realize that they have some policies in place, but ensuring that club sides adhere to its provision is the problem.

How can I share a PDF file ?


You need to see how much employment and revenue could generate

Our league

When is our league n clubsides. Going to be privatized and taken out of govt hands. Like it is done abroad.

I can't wait to own a part of eyimba fc. And travel to watch their matches.

Our league can not only produce stars n great entertainment but can solve lots of issues including unemployment.

We don't think in this country. It will be same same come 5years from now

This league is wack and The LMC has tried shouldering, but their burden will be lughter if sponsorship and direct rules and procedures are followed without any fear of whose ox is gored.


I can bet you that if a live forum comprising of youths that are passionate to see npfl move forward, is called, they will outline all that needs to be done to be the best league in Africa.


pls dont come with that crappy easier said than done talk, its stale and invalid.


We know that to move this league forward, some transparency and integrity is all it needs.

Local people!!!

How many Club jerseys are produced, and circulated all over the country?

How many fans or citizens know the colors and logo of the teams that play in the league without second thoughts?


I can mention the club logos and names of the 20 teams in the Epl, including those in relegation, but i can't do same for NPFL. why?


You want the white man to comman invest in the league and you broadcast the league games one a tv station his ancestors that came to naija help create 60yrs ago? Smh!!


Who will watch such a game and enjoy with all the poor broadcasting and poor picture quality? Is that not a big embarassment to Nigeria?

The refs has always been ruining games since i was a kid, and yet no improvement till date. Like, are they like the NPF that have no improvements in the process that churn out graduates from the academies?

So one ref cannot just be passion driven for once and desire that he wants his name to be known on the continent and on the world stage?! oh cash!! Its always been cash!!

I can't rem the last ref from Nigeria that officiated an African Qualifier. shame shame on you refs.


The clubs are managed by the govt that are like Stan Kroenke, the owner of Arsenal, who is American and as such, its obvious that football is no passion for him, but just a side business. So he invests more in american football and smile when next he turns to the Arsenal FC.


The league doesn't have an official identity enough to woo a passerby to wanna enter the stadium and watch. it doesn't!!

That jersey aspect should be a starting point to me. Spread it all over naija. You can get business owners willing to make club jerseys will official deals with the club itself, etc.


Let Nigerians know wassup.


Do football related interviews with individuals, captains of teams, as regard their identity, dreams, club history(i bet 90% of current players don't know the history of the club. I can beat my chest and say it anywhere, they just play cos they want a route to europe)


Open up stores that sell club stuff.

And finally, get youths(youths are inspired by football anywhere in naija), get youths that would bring live to the commentary section of the NPFL games. I've been hearing those old men's voice for decades and not only that, their usage of english is piss poor. No inserting of digs, sly, yab, poetry, sacarsm, exaggerations, and suspense. They can't even make someone listening on radio to be apprehensive, even for Super Eagles games.


Reminds me of Mack Macfadden in the One Tree Hill series that rose from a school locker room self-made commentator, to national commentator cos he...... lemme fizzle out hear.

Naija as a whole can rarely inspire itself. But let the opportunity be given. And maybe. just maybe, Our League can get a following out of 200million people.


Some clubs don't even have 100,000 followers on IG or Twitter.


You need to see the way some use these handles, jeez!!!

daveP:
How many Club jerseys are produced, and circulated all over the country?

How many fans or citizens know the colors and logo of the teams that play in the league without second thoughts?


I can mention the club logos and names of the 20 teams in the Epl, including those in relegation, but i can't do same for NPFL. why?


You want the white man to comman invest in the league and you broadcast the league games one a tv station his ancestors that came to naija help create 60yrs ago? Smh!!


Who will watch such a game and enjoy with all the poor broadcasting and poor picture quality? Is that not a big embarassment to Nigeria?

The refs has always been ruining games since i was a kid, and yet no improvement till date. Like, are they like the NPF that have no improvements in the process that churn out graduates from the academies?

So one ref cannot just be passion driven for once and desire that he wants his name to be known on the continent and on the world stage?! oh cash!! Its always been cash!!

I can't rem the last ref from Nigeria that officiated an African Qualifier. shame shame on you refs.


The clubs are managed by the govt that are like Stan Kroenke, the owner of Arsenal, who is American and as such, its obvious that football is no passion for him, but just a side business. So he invests more in american football and smile when next he turns to the Arsenal FC.


The league doesn't have an official identity enough to woo a passerby to wanna enter the stadium and watch. it doesn't!!

That jersey aspect should be a starting point to me. Spread it all over naija. You can get business owners willing to make club jerseys will official deals with the club itself, etc.


Let Nigerians know wassup.


Do football related interviews with individuals, captains of teams, as regard their identity, dreams, club history(i bet 90% of current players don't know the history of the club. I can beat my chest and say it anywhere, they just play cos they want a route to europe)


Open up stores that sell club stuff.

And finally, get youths(youths are inspired by football anywhere in naija), get youths that would bring live to the commentary section of the NPFL games. I've been hearing those old men's voice for decades and not only that, their usage of english is piss poor. No inserting of digs, sly, yab, poetry, sacarsm, exaggerations, and suspense. They can't even make someone listening on radio to be apprehensive, even for Super Eagles games.


Reminds me of Mack Macfadden in the One Tree Hill series that rose from a school locker room self-made commentator, to national commentator cos he...... lemme fizzle out hear.

Naija as a whole can rarely inspire itself. But let the opportunity be given. And maybe. just maybe, Our League can get a following out of 200million people.


Some clubs don't even have 100,000 followers on IG or Twitter.


You need to see the way some use these handles, jeez!!!

Nice observations, I wish to contest for NFF president someday I pray am able to get people to believe in me.

Is just that in Nigeria we didn't see football as business and our government needs to hands off sport for private sectors to thrive,Imagine EPL contributes 3.4 billion to UK economy.

ClassicMG:
How can I share a PDF file ?


You need to see how much employment and revenue could generate

ClassicMG-we are still waiting for your contribution.HASTEN UP!!!

tck2000:
ClassicMG-we are still waiting for your contribution.HASTEN UP!!!

would have love too but I don't knw how to share a PDF file here

ClassicMG:
would have love too but I don't knw how to share a PDF file here

Any idea on how i could get it....i'm trying to enlighten people about our league!

tck2000:
Any idea on how i could get it....i'm trying to enlighten people about our league!

check your mail

ClassicMG:
check your mail

Actually,i can't open my email.How about copying them here?

ClassicMG:
check your mail

Actually,i can't open my email.How about trying to copy them here

I would add some ideas. (1).Bring foreign players from European,Asian,South American Leagues.Don't tell me that they would not come.At least,they have lower leagues and players desperate to play in 1st leagues.

I would add some ideas. (1).Bring foreign players from European,Asian,South American Leagues.Don't tell me that they would not come.At least,they have lower leagues and players desperate to play in 1st leagues.

I wonder why some club let their underperforming players go for free when they could sell them to lower leagues/other african leagues.

i wonder why some clubs let their under performing players go for free when they could sell them to lower tier's clubs or other african league clubs.