₦airaland Forum

27/01 Dolphins 2-1 Wikki
27/01 Gateway 1-0 Kaduna
27/01 Gombe 3-0 Zamfara
27/01 Rangers 0-0 Enyimba
27/01 Pillars 1-0 Sunshine
27/01 R Bees 2-0 Kwara
27/01 Bayelsa 2-1 Ocean
27/01 Niger 2-0 3SC
28/01 Heartland vs Sharks

LOG:
Team Pld Pts
1. Enyimba 16 30
2. Pillars 16 27
3. Rangers 16 26
4. Niger 16 25
5. Kwara 16 24
6. Sunshine 16 24
7. Wolves 15 22
8. Heartland15 22
9. R Bees 16 22
10. Dolphins 16 21
11. Ocean 16 21
12. Bayelsa 16 20
13. Gombe 16 20
14. Wikki 16 19
15. Kaduna 16 19
16. Gateway 16 19
17. Zamfara 16 19
18. Lobi 15 18
19. 3SC 16 17
20. Sharks 15 15

Sports firm to bid for Bayelsa United

ayelsan-born, FIFA Player’s agent, Ebi Egbe a.k.a Mr Moni and his Europe-based technical partners, Limonta( FIFA ACCREDITED CONTRACTORS) have put in motion machinery to bid for the possession of Premier league defending champions, Bayelsa United who is being put up for sale by the state government.
The state Governor, Chief Timipre Silva recently intimated the players and officials of the team of his administration’s plans to privatize the club or put it up for an outright sale for interested buyers with a minimal take-off grant from state Government. He disclosed this when he hosted the team recently in his office in Yenagoa.
Governor Silva explained that the cost of financing the club is becoming a burden on the state government especially in this period of economic melt- down.
According to Egbe, he is in discussion with his foreign partners in the area of a collaboration on this project which will see Bayelsa United being offered to a foreign club as their feeders team, just as in the case of ASEC MIMOSAS of Cote D ivoire and Premiership giants, ARSENAL.
He added that the team will in turn be responsible for the upkeep of the club. Egbe further spoke on his company’s plans for the team.
“We are set to apply to the state Ministry of Sports for the possession of Bayelsa United. We shall approach some clubs in Europe to adopt the club as their feeder’s team who will in turn finance the activities of the team and transfer the players to their teams in Europe . All parties involved will benefit from the arrangement and the players and the people of Bayelsa will benefit the most from it “

23/01 Sharks 0-1 Rangers (In a league where it's impossible to lose at home, )
23/01 3SC 0-0 R Bees
23/01 Kwara 2-0 Gombe
24/01 Ocean vs Niger
24/01 Enyimba vs Dolphins
24/01 Sunshine vs Gateway
24/01 Lobi vs Bayelsa
24/01 Zamfara vs Heartland
24/01 Wikki vs Pillars
24/01 Kaduna vs Wolves

17/01 Gombe United 2-0 Shooting Stars
17/01 Kano Pillars 2-0 Enyimba
17/01 Warri Wolves 2-0 Sunshine Stars
17/01 Rangers International 2-0 Dolphins FC
17/01 Heartland FC 3-1 Kwara United
17/01 Bayelsa United 3-1 Kaduna United
17/01 Sharks 4-2 Zamfara United
17/01 Ranch Bees FC 1-0 Ocean Boys
17/01 Niger Tornadoes 2-0 Lobi Stars
17/01 Gateway 2-1 Wikki Tourists


LOG:
  Team Pld Pts
1. Enyimba 14 26
2. Wolves 14 22
3. Rangers 14 22
4. Heartland 14 22
5. Kwara 14 21
6. Pillars 14 21
7. Niger 14 21
8. Sunshine 14 21
9. Ocean 14 20
10. Wikki 14 19
11. Dolphins 14 18
12. R Bees 14 18
13. Gombe 14 17
14. Lobi         14 17
15. Bayelsa 14 16
16. 3SC         14 16
17. Kaduna 14 16
18. Gateway 14 16
19. Zamfara 14 16
20. Sharks 14 15 (hehehe)

http://naijaligue..com/2010/01/features-nigerian-league-in-n765m.html

With more than 200 petitions still at the doorstep of the Nigeria Football Federation’s Players’ Status and Arbitration Committee from players and officials of virtually all of the 52 professional clubs in the country, an investigation conducted by Naijaligue..com has uncovered that the clubs in Nigeria are living in austere times with more than 18 clubs in N765 million debt.
However, Naijaligue..com’s inquiry was conducted beyond just the clubs’ debt to players and officials, as almost all of the 52 clubs owe some firms across the country for providing one service or the other.
When one of the managers of the Premier League clubs (names withheld) was spoken to about the huge debt in the Premier League and the Nigeria National League (NNL) also known as the National Division I League, he even estimated that debt of all 52 clubs should be pegged at N1 billion considering the fact that these clubs do businesses with players, coaches, hotel owners, banks and sports shops among others.
NFF’s N121m Estimation Of Total Debt
Last year, the NFF’s Players’ Status and Arbitration Committee through its spokesman, Barrister Iyke Igbokwe, had disclosed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja that 11 Premier League clubs and seven in the National Division I League owe players and officials various sums of money from signing-on fees to unpaid match bonuses to salaries.
Igbokwe had also revealed that the amount the 18 clubs owe the players and officials was N121 million, which dates back from the 2004 season to the current season.
But the findings of Naijaligue..com have proved that the sum revealed by the NFF committee is far from the actual amount, which is believed to be close N800 million through unofficial confirmation.
The debt in the Premier League and National Division I League as revealed by Naijaligue..com is based on unofficial facts from past and present club officials and players concerning signing-on fees, match bonuses and salaries.
Akwa United, Nasarawa United, Prime Football Club, Grays International, Ocean Boys, Ranchers Bees , Niger Tornadoes, Kwara United, Heartland, El-Kanemi and Zamfara United.
Others are Plateau United, Wikki Tourist, Gombe United, Bayelsa United, Bendel Insurance, Lobi Stars and Sharks Football Club.
Premier League’s Real Worth
Last August while the Super Four was held in the capital of Kwara State – Ilorin – one of the league experts in Nigeria had told Naijaligue..com in an off-the-record discussion that the Premier League in the country is worth more than N1 billion. He explained that Nigeria’s top-flight is the league where the most money is injected compared to even South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan, which are believed to pay players healthy wages.
The expert also went further to point out that clubs in the Premier League campaigning in any of the CAF-organised club competitions usually get subvention of between N400 million and N500 million for a season. The other clubs in the normal campaign would definitely get another N500 million from their various state governments when their total budgets are added up. For instance, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) in a press briefing at its Jericho secretariat in Ibadan before the start of this season’s campaign, said its budget for the 2009/2010 season is N250 million though till date the amount made available to the club by the Oyo State government is unknown. Definitely clubs such as last season’s champion, Bayelsa United, Heartland, Enyimba and Warri Wolves due to compete in CAF’s two club competitions – the CAF Champions League and Confederation – would get additional amounts to cover for travelling expenses and match bonuses for these championships.

Premier’s League Highest-paid Player
In spite of the projection that Nigeria’s top-flight is worth more than N1 billion with funds from state governments, title sponsor (Globacom) and other supporting sponsor, the highest earner in the Premier League does not earn up to a $1,000 (N150,000) per month. Naijaligue..com understands that the biggest wage in the Premier League is earned by one of Heartland’s foreigners, which is just $800 (N120,000) per month. However, this is just the monthly salary of the highest-paid excluding allowances such as match bonuses and other incentives. In a league that has been rated as Africa’s number by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) for its performance in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, there are players still being paid as low as N30,000 monthly. Yet, majority of the clubs still find it hard to remit these miserly amounts to players at the end of the month.
A Look Inside The Indebted Clubs
One of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season, Akwa United, is believed to top the chart of indebted clubs with an outstanding bill of N250 million. Chairman of the club, Isong Isang, had reacted to the allegation that the club is in huge debt by stating that the amount was inherited from past managements of the Uyo-based outfit. He said: “I am sure that this kind of amount you have just mentioned cannot have been from just last season alone since you said there are cases lodged at the arbitration panel against us on the said amount. But at the same time, it could be a misrepresented figure because we have offset some debt that we inherited from previous managements.”
However, clubs like Nasarawa United, which was also relegated from the Premier League last season, remains unrepentant in paying off outstanding debt to past and present players and officials and little wonder the Lafia-based club is faced with possibility of falling off the professional ranks, as it is one of the sides occupying the rear in the National Division I League this season. Coaches such as Daniel Amokachi and Shuaibu Amodu are still owed by the club. Nasarawa United’s total debt is believed to be in the region of N150 million.
At Premier League champion, Bayelsa United, it has been a case of accusation from the players on the management. Last week, a handful of the players called to complain that the club had allegedly fleeced it of huge sums following the largesse from their title-winning feat of last season. One of the players told Naijaligue..com that “the (Bayelsa) state government had given us N500,000 each but some of us ended getting N200,000, others got varied amounts of N150,000 and got around N100,000 or N70,000.” The players are yet to be paid the balance of their signing-on fees for last season.
The story is also not different at clubs such as Sharks FC, where players are owed two months salaries, match bonuses and signing-on fees while Ocean Boys is roped in a huge debt to one of the struggling banks in the country. As for National Division I League sides, Grays International and Prime FC, they are faced with financial crisis that spans more than three years. Grays International, based in Ede, has found it difficult of late to honour away matches and recently was put up for sale by its owners, Ede North and Ede South local councils, due to its financial predicament.
Breakdown Of Clubs’ Debt
As at this moment, players in the Premier League and the National Division I League are owed around N306,000,000. This amount represents 40 per cent of what the total debt by clubs in the past five seasons of professional football in Nigeria though few would admit to this stark revelation. The 18 clubs, which is under investigation by Naijaligue..com owe officials the sum of N191,250,000 while hotel bills yet to be settled stand at N153,000,000. But bad loans from banks that include other services from purchase of football kits represent 15 per cent from the total debt of N765 million. The debt to other services in the two cadres of the professional leagues stands at 114,750,000 as at last season as represented in the flowchart below.
With the global recession yet to abate and now ravaging Nigeria’s financial sector inspection of the declaration by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the country’s economy improved slightly, there appears to be no relief in sight for the 52 professional clubs in the country. The clubs are still tied to the apron of state governments and hardly rake in funds of their own. The situation is looking worse for the Premier League as its title sponsor, Globacom Nigeria Limited, has decided to pull out of its deal with the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) in the wake of a face-off with the NFF. Clubs looking forward to the start of the season grant of N10 million recently increased to N13 million may not get a dime this term after all due to the differences between Globacom and the NPL. The NNL, which is the National Division I League arbiter, on the other hand, has no sponsor.
In spite of the huge debts by Nigerian clubs, the NFF’s Players’ Status and Arbitration Committee is confident that it would recover every of debt owed players and officials even it is apparent that most of the clubs would run its budget this season without a dime from state governments, who are reluctant to make funds available due to huge demands from other equally important sectors of the country’s economy.



HEAVILY INDEBTED CLUBS
Akwa Utd N250m
Nasarawa Utd N150m
Prime FC N80m
Grays Int’l N75m
Ocean Boys N40m
Ranchers Bees N26m
Tornadoes N16m
Kwara Utd N16m
Heartland N15m
El-Kanemi N15m
Zamfara Utd N12m
Plateau Utd N12m
Wikki Tourist N11m
Gombe Utd N10m
Bayelsa Utd N10m
Bendel Insurance N10m
Lobi Stars N10m
Sharks FC N7m

Midweek Matches:

Wikki 3 – 1 Wolves
Kwara Utd 1 – 0 Sharks
Zamfara Utd 1 – 0 Rangers
3SC 1 – 0 Heartland
Dolphin 3 – 1 Kano Pillars
Ocean Boys 2 – 0 Gombe Utd
Lobi Stars 2 – 0 Ranch Bees
Kaduna Utd 1 – 0 Tornadoes
Sunshine Stars 1 – 0 Bayelsa Utd
Enyimba 2 – 0 Gateway FC

Log:

1. Enyimba 13 26
2. Kwara 13 21
3. Sunshine 13 21
4. Ocean 13 20
5. Wolves 13 19
6. Rangers 13 19
7. Wikki 13 19
8. Heartland 13 19
9. Dolphins 13 18
10. Pillars 13 18
11. Niger 13 18
12. Lobi 13 17
13. 3SC 13 16
14. Kaduna 13 16
15. Zamfara 13 16
16. R Bees 13 15
17. Gombe 13 14
18. Bayelsa 13 13
19. Gateway 13 13
20. Sharks 13 12

10/01 00:00 Kaduna United 2-1 Gombe United Unknown
10/01 00:00 Sunshine Stars 1-0 Ranch Bees FC Unknown
10/01 00:00 Ocean Boys 1-0 Sharks Unknown
10/01 00:00 Lobi Stars 1-1 Heartland FC Unknown
09/01 00:00 Shooting Stars 2-0 Zamfara United Unknown
09/01 00:00 Kwara United 0-0 Rangers International Unknown
09/01 00:00 Wikki Tourists 2-0 Niger Tornadoes Unknown
09/01 00:00 Dolphins FC 1-1 Warri Wolves Unknown
09/01 00:00 Kano Pillars 1-0 Gateway Unknown

11/01 Enyimba 2-0 Bayelsa

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201001021165418

Club owners and the Nigerian league
Adekunle SALAMI


Nigerians love football. A five-a-side game under the bridge in Lagos attracts huge crowd in Lagos while fans also troop out to watch football games involving youth teams in secondary schools or age-limit competitions.

So much has been said on the need to boost our national league because of its importance to the development of the game in the country. The performance of the Super Eagles cannot be used as the yardstick to rate the standard of the game in Nigeria because most of the players if not all are foreign-based with various European teams.

The league attracts huge followership in the 80s and early 90s perhaps because the modernization we have now was not there then. Internet and cable televisions were just not in vogue then. It was even difficult to monitor a Nigerian player abroad. Players come to Nigeria that time to make claims and there were no means to crosscheck such claims.

Also then, the league was on television with a review package every night by the sponsors. For so many years, Nigerian league was not on television. Only two years ago, the league came back on television with a contract signed with multichoice, owners of Dstv. Sad enough, this has not taken the fans back to the stadium because many Nigerians do not have multichoice decoders in their homes.

The Nigerian Premier League has been running the league courtesy of the sponsorship package of telecoms outfit, Globacom. The contract incidentally ends this term and the sponsors have pulled out of the deal. In a few weeks, the election of the NPL will hold to usher in a new board to run the Nigerian league.

It is crucial to put some vital issues in perspectives before the election. Today, club owners are running the league and they are doing so to achieve set targets for themselves. I hereby advocate change of the statute of the NPL that gives club owners the mandate to run the league. When these people come in as club owners and they lose their seats on the board of the clubs, they still maintain their places at the NPL. Their affiliation to the teams makes them judges in their own affairs.

State governments own most of the clubs and any change in government might also lead to change in club leadership. What then happens to those already on board from that platform as club owners? It is however a dicey affair because those who are supposed to change the enabling laws are the current board members who are benefiting from the anomaly.

Till date, I still find it hard to believe that the 9-0 victory Zamfara recorded over Kaduna United stood while the 13-0 win Akwa United recorded over Calabar Rovers also stood. Things like these can only happen with a management that consists of umpires who are in charge of their own affairs. A management with independent people of integrity will never endorse scandalous result that smells corruption.

Again, the players are suffering. No good welfare package, no salaries, signing-on fees are not duly paid while bad pitches still host games in the country.

As we enter the New Year, this is the right time for the NPL to turn a new leaf in all aspect. The body should get serious by allowing the electoral committee to do an independent job. The committee named two weeks ago has credible Nigerians who can save our domestic football. Any club owner interested in gunning for an NPL position should resign well before the election. The committee should examine the role of club owners in the running of our football.

If this committee gives us a credible board getting a new sponsor will not be a problem and I also believe strongly that the fans can return to league stadia with good management.

NPL can facilitate deals between former players and some clubs. Former Eagles skipper, Austin Okocha, could return to the league not for the money but to help develop the game in the country. Garba Lawal is playing for Lobi Stars and Rashidi Yekini returned to the local scene after his retirement from European club football.

Fans can return to the stadia with proper planning and deliberate effort of the NPL board to woo them back. Our football deserves good packaging both at the domestic and international levels.

There is no better time to get it right and flush mediocrity out of our league administration. The right time is now.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/01/gov-sylva-to-privatize-bayelsa-utd/

Gov. Sylva to privatize Bayelsa Utd
Sports Jan 1, 2010

By Richard Animam
The New Year no doubt will usher in a lot of new developments in Nigerian sports and for Bayelsa State owned football club Bayelsa United, a new management awaits the 2008/2009 Globacom Premier League champions.


The team which is struggling to find its feet at the Globacom Premier League currently on break has failed to impress Bayelsa State Chief Executive Governor Tinipre Sylva. Governor Sylva last week declared that the state intends to privatize the state owned Bayelsa United FC by January 2010 due to its huge debt burden arising from unpaid sign on fees and match bonuses of player and officials.

The governor made this pronouncement at the reception of the state athletes to the National Sports Festival tagged Kada 09 and Bayelsa United players and officials for lifting the 08/09 league trophy.

He stated that his administration has spent over N850m this year but has nothing to show for the huge investment on the football team. Adding that the state is not happy with the poor performance of the team this season. Bayelsa United has been hovering around the relegation zone since the Premier League kicked and has found it tough to rekindle last season’s performance.

Governor Sylva decried the dominance of non-indegenes in the club 10 years after its existence and charged to them to encourage more Bayelsan footballers in the team.

According to him, the privatization arrangement will see government assist the new management with a yearly grant of N200m. He disclosed that a package will be given to the Kada 09 contingent and the players and officials of Bayelsa United.

Governor Sylva stated that the new development is in line with the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative of the present administration which is also in line with professional football management.

The governor revealed that his effort has already generated interest as some notable banks, companies and football consultants are showing interest in taking over the club in view of the need to act fast as regards stabilizing the team for the 2010 CAF Champions League.

The League Resumes: (Up, Enyimba!)


09/01 Pillars vs Gateway
09/01 3SC vs Zamfara
09/01 Wikki vs Niger
09/01 Kwara vs Rangers
09/01 Dolphins vs Wolves
10/01 Sunshine vs R Bees
10/01 Lobi vs Heartland
10/01 Ocean vs Sharks
10/01 Enyimba vs Bayelsa
10/01 Kaduna vs Gombe

Log:
Team Pld Pts
1. Enyimba 11 20
2. Wolves 11 18
3. Rangers 11 18
4. Niger 11 18
5. Heartland 11 18
6. Kwara 11 17
7. Pillars 11 15
8. Sunshine 11 15
9. R Bees 11 15
10. Dolphins 11 14
11. Gombe 11 14
12. Ocean 11 14
13. Wikki 11 13
14. Bayelsa 11 13
15. Gateway 11 13
16. Lobi 11 13
17. Zamfara 11 13
18. Sharks 11 12
19. Kaduna 11 10
20. 3SC 11 10

Sundays scores


20/12 00:00 Rangers International 1-0 Kano Pillars
20/12 00:00 Zamfara United 1-0 Kwara United
20/12 00:00 Heartland FC 2-0 Ocean Boys
20/12 00:00 Warri Wolves 0-1 Enyimba
20/12 00:00 Bayelsa United 1-1 Wikki Tourists

19/12 Gateway 1-1 Dolphins
19/12 Niger 1-0 Sunshine
19/12 Sharks 2-0 3SC
19/12 Gombe 2-0 Lobi
19/12 R Bees 1-0 Kaduna

Saturday December 12

12/12 Bayelsa United 1-1 Dolphins FC
12/12 Kwara United 0-0 Shooting Stars
12/12 Sharks 3-1 Lobi Stars
12/12 Gombe United 2-1 Sunshine Stars
12/12 Ranch Bees FC 2-1 Wikki Tourists

Sunday December 13 (Happy Birthday Sharrod!)

13/12 00:00 Warri Wolves 3-0 Kano Pillars
13/12 00:00 Zamfara United 1-1 Ocean Boys
13/12 00:00 Rangers International 4-0 Gateway
13/12 00:00 Niger Tornadoes 3-2 Enyimba
13/12 00:00 Heartland FC 2-0 Kaduna United

Saturday 5th December, 2009

05/12 Gateway 1-2 Wolves
05/12 Wikki 2-0 Gombe
05/12 Pillars 1-1 Bayelsa
05/12 Dolphins 2-1 Niger
05/12 Ocean 1-1 Kwara
05/12 3SC 0-0 Rangers
 
 Sunday 6th December, 2009 

06/12 00:00 Kaduna United 1-0 Sharks
06/12 00:00 Sunshine Stars 0-0 Heartland FC
06/12 00:00 Enyimba 4-0 Ranch Bees FC
06/12 00:00 Lobi Stars 1-1 Zamfara United


THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES:
12/12 Niger vs Enyimba
12/12 Kwara vs 3SC
12/12 Gombe vs Sunshine
12/12 Bayelsa vs Dolphins
12/12 R Bees vs Wikki
12/12 Sharks vs Lobi
13/12 Zamfara vs Ocean
13/12 Heartland vs Kaduna
13/12 Rangers vs Gateway
13/12 Wolves vs Pillars
LOG:
  Team Pld Pts
1. Enyimba 9 17
2. Kwara 9 16
3. Wolves 9 15
4. Pillars 8 15
5. Sunshine 9 15
6. Lobi 9 13
7. Ocean 9 13
8. Gateway 8 12
9. Wikki 9 12
10. Rangers 9 12
11. Dolphins 9 12
12. Niger 8 11
13. Kaduna 9 10
14. Bayelsa 8 10
15. 3SC 9 9
16. Heartland 8 9
17. R Bees 9 9
18. Zamfara 9 9
19. Gombe 9 8
20. Sharks 8 3
Full Log



Osas Idehen (Enyimba) 6; Afolabi Seun (Gateway FC) 5; Eddy Ogude (Wolves) 5; Bello Kofarmata (Kano Pillars) 4; Peter Obiorah (Kaduna Utd) 4; Sibi Gwar (Kwara Utd) 3; Akeem Adebisi (3SC) 3; Amakiri George (Ocean Boys) 3; Captain Ejindu (Dolphin) 3; Soga Sambo (Kwara Utd) 3; Blessing Okardi (Lobi) 3; Okiemute Odah (Sharks) 3; Gift Atiluwa (Wolves) 3; Ahmed Musa (Kano Pillars) 3

29/11 00:00 Bayelsa United 2-1 Gateway Unknown
29/11 00:00 Rangers International 1-1 Warri Wolves Unknown
29/11 00:00 Zamfara United 1-1 Kaduna United Unknown
29/11 00:00 Heartland FC 0-0 Wikki Tourists Unknown

Saturdays scores

28/11 00:00 Kwara United 2-0 Lobi Stars
28/11 00:00 Sharks 0-1 Sunshine Stars
28/11 00:00 Gombe United 1-1 Enyimba
28/11 00:00 Shooting Stars 0-0 Ocean Boys
28/11 00:00 Ranch Bees FC 2-0 Dolphins FC
28/11 00:00 Niger Tornadoes 1-1 Kano Pillars

Sundays Fixtures

29/11 Heartland FC Wikki Tourists
29/11 Zamfara United Kaduna United
29/11 Rangers International Warri Wolves
29/11 Bayelsa United Gateway

Full weekend results:


Gateway 1 Tornadoes 0

Kano Pillars 2 Ranch Bees 1

Dolphins 1 Gombe 0

Wikki 1 Sharks 1

Ocean Boys 1 Rangers 0

Wolves 2 Bayelsa 0

Enyimba 0 Heartland 0

Sunshine 2 Zamfara 0

Kaduna Utd 1 Kwara Utd 2

Lobi Stars 2 Shooting o

Saturday's Scores


21/11 00:00 Ocean Boys 1-0 Rangers International
21/11 00:00 Wikki Tourists 1-1 Sharks
21/11 00:00 Dolphins FC 1-0 Gombe United
21/11 00:00 Kano Pillars 2-1 Ranch Bees FC
21/11 00:00 Gateway 1-0 Niger Tornadoes

The Oriental Derby highlights this weekends action:

21/11 Gateway vs Niger
21/11 Dolphins vs Gombe
21/11 Ocean vs Rangers
21/11 Pillars vs R Bees
21/11 Wikki vs Sharks
22/11 Wolves vs Bayelsa
22/11 Sunshine vs Zamfara
22/11 Lobi vs 3SC
22/11 Enyimba vs Heartland
22/11 Kaduna vs Kwara

League resumes as Enyimba go top (where they belong!)

18/11 Ocean 1-0 Lobi
18/11 Zamfara 0-0 Wikki
18/11 3SC 3-1 Kaduna
18/11 Niger 2-1 Wolves
18/11 Gombe 2-0 Pillars
18/11 Kwara 2-0 Sunshine
18/11 Heartland 1-0 Dolphins
18/11 Rangers 1-0 Bayelsa
18/11 R Bees 0-0 Gateway
18/11 Sharks 2-3 Enyimba

Sunday's scores


18/10 00:00 Sunshine Stars 1-0 Shooting Stars Unknown
18/10 00:00 Kano Pillars 4-0 Heartland FC Unknown
18/10 00:00 Enyimba 1-0 Zamfara United Unknown
18/10 00:00 Warri Wolves 1-0 Ranch Bees FC Unknown
18/10 00:00 Lobi Stars 2-1 Rangers International Unknown
18/10 00:00 Kaduna United 2-0 Ocean Boys Unknown

Saturday scores


17/10 Dolphins 1-1 Sharks
17/10 Gateway 2-1 Gombe
17/10 Wikki 3-4 Kwara

Saturday 17th October, 2009

41 Gateway United Vs Gombe United
42 Dolphin FC Vs Sharks FC
43 Wikki Tourists Vs Kwara United FC

Sunday 18th October, 2009

44 Sunshine Stars Vs Shooting Stars
45 Kaduna United Vs Ocean Boys FC
46 Lobi Stars FC Vs Rangers Int’l FC
47 Warri Wolves FC Vs Rancher’s Bees
48 Enyimba Int’l FC Vs Zamfara United

Wednesday 21st October, 2009
49 Kano Pillars FC Vs Heartland FC
50 Bayelsa United Vs Niger Tornadoes

Actually, MTN has stated they aren't involved in Nigerian football because they don't trust anyone involved in it.

Officials explain MTN's withdrawal from Nigerian football, athletics
By Christian Okpara

MOBILE telecommunications outfit, MTN, which is one of the biggest sponsors of sports in most of the countries it operates in, has accused Nigerian sports officials of frustrating its efforts at trying to contribute to the growth of the sector.

The major sponsor of the 2010 World Cup also sponsors the CAF Nations Cup, as well as the Champions League. But apart from golf and polo tournaments, the company has little presence in the Nigerian sports circle. Speaking with journalists before the African Legends Football Challenge played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, over the weekend, MTN's General Manager, Consumer Marketing, Kola Oyeyemi, revealed that his company had tried several times to come into the mainstream of Nigerian sports only to be driven away by the attitude of those who run the sector.

"We stepped aside from Nigerian football because we have not found credible people to work with. It is unfortunate that those who run the game in Nigeria have different agenda from what we wanted to achieve. That is why we left Nigerian football for the European game, with the aim of bringing joy to majority of Nigerians," Oyeyemi alleged.

"Our sponsorship of the World Cup is to satisfy the aspirations of Nigerians; we will take some Nigerians to the World Cup. To ensure that we achieve our aim of bringing joy to many Nigerians through the World Cup, we will be heavy on television and radio broadcasts.

"Nigerians will also experience the pull of the World Cup through fans zones, where we will create avenues for football lovers to watch matches and activities around the World Cup on big screens."

On the FA Cup, which is open for sponsorship with the withdrawal of Coca-Cola from its sponsorship, Oyeyemi disclosed that MTN was speaking with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with a view to bankrolling the competition. He added, however, that partnering the NFF was a very difficult thing for the company to do.

"We tried to work with the NFF in the past and we were wounded. The scars of that injury have not healed. You can imagine how one will feel after agreeing on a sponsorship with an organisation, deposited the cheques and all of a sudden the deal is cancelled because someone else came into the picture. That happened at the highest level of MTN leadership, so we don't want to go through that again," he said.

On athletics, Oyeyemi also revealed that MTN could not "continue working with people who do not understand the need to grow the sports they are managing," adding that the company would only go back to the sport when it is convinced that the people managing it are ready to adopt best practices in their activities.

"For now, we are into golf and polo sponsorship because golf appeals to our high networth customers, while polo is for our northern consumers," he said.

NPL EXEC. SECRETARY CALLS FOR PRIVATIZATION OF CLUBS

The Executive Secretary of the NPL, Alhassan Yakmut has made a strong call for more private sector participation in the administration of premier league clubs.
He made this call while reacting to the recent concession by the Benue state Government, of sixty percent of Lobi Stars to private sector investors.

Describing the move as a welcome development, Yakmut urged other premier league clubs to break their over-dependence on government funding and trail the example of Lobi Stars.

He added that such over-dependence on government funds has a tendency of retarding the progress of clubs.

According to him, government response to the needs of clubs is mostly untimely, especially as it affects release of funds, a situation that has made it very difficult for clubs to fulfill their contractual agreements with players and coaches.

He concluded by stating that a transition programme of 2 years has been instituted by the league board, designed to ease out direct government involvement in the running of premier league clubs.

Results

Zamfara Utd 3 Dolphins 2
Lobi 1 Kaduna Utd 1
Ranch Bees 2 Bayelsa Utd 1
Kwara Utd 0 Enyimba 0
Shooting Stars 1 Wikki 0
Rangers 1 Tornadoes 0
Ocean Boys 1 Sunshine 0

Gombe v Warri to be played Monday, 12 October

October 10, 2009 (1600 Nigerian Time)

31 Rancher’s Bees Vs Bayelsa United
32 Gombe United Vs Warri Wolves FC
34 Kwara United FC Vs Enyimba Int’l FC
35 Shooting Stars Vs Wikki Tourists
36 Ocean Boys FC Vs Sunshine Stars
37 Lobi Stars FC Vs Kaduna United
38 Rangers Int’l FC Vs Niger Tornadoes
40 Zamfara United Vs Dolphin FC

The Following matches have been postponed (CAF commitments)
33 Sharks FC Vs Kano Pilars 10th Oct. 28th Oct.
39 Heartland FC Vs Gateway FC 10th Oct. 18th Nov.

Sunday, October 4
Sunshine 0 Lobi 0
Enyimba 1 Shooting 0
Kaduna Utd 1 Rangers 1

Saturdays scores (plus a midweek match)

03/10 Niger 0-0 R Bees
03/10 Dolphins 1-0 Kwara
03/10 Gateway 4-1 Sharks
03/10 Wikki 1-0 Ocean
30/09 R Bees 0-0 Gombe

Another truncated week.

Saturday, October 3 & Sunday, October 4

Enyimba vs Shooting

Tornadoes vs Ranchers

Gateway vs Sharks

Dolphins vs Kwara

Wikki vs Ocean Boys

Sunshine vs Lobi Stars

Kaduna Utd vs Rangers

Postponed

Bayelsa vs Gombe

Wolves vs Heartland

Pillars vs Zamfara

Sunday's action

Zamfara Utd 1 Gateway 0
Owerri:
Heartland 2 Bayelsa 1
Enugu:
Rangers 2 Ranch Bees 0
Fred Okpalla
Damien Udeh
Makurdi:
Lobi 1 Wikki 0
Ilorin:
Kwara Utd 0 Kano Pillars 0

The National, Amatuer and Female leagues don't kick off till November ( as ordered by the NFF)