₦airaland Forum

When did EPL become popular and easily accessible by Nigerians?
When did other leagues also find their way into our system?
Before then, were Nigerians not going to stadiums to watch matches?

When you answer these questions, I will then go further with figures and if possible pictures of league matches before the easy access to foreign leagues.

OMANBALA1:
Bros, you are yet to prove that people stopped watching Nigerian league due to European league.

Meen, why the hostility? SMH

Sorry sir that I engaged you in a convo.

Humility017:
keep that question in your pocket please.

Do they pay more in Russia than Turkey?

Humility017:
please forget it....that Harris of an agent is only concerned about his pocket...

the main reason they don't want turkey is because of the wage...and nothing more.

Well his agent doesn't see him getting loaned to bursaspor. I guess they have better options.

Humility017:
I understand you....but he needs playing time now....so as to be fit and ready @the world cup...he is not signing for buraspor but just a loan deal.....

a good world cup outing or how good the loan deal turns out...could fetch him a better deal...that is another opportunity.

but right now...he needs play time and any club that can guarantee him that should be welcomed....

no good club will come for him and nancho now...reason because they're down the drains in their career path....they need a revival to attract the likes of club like spurs, psg, Munich etc....

You want me to prove what is glaring? Bros sorry I don't argue for the sake of argument.

OMANBALA1:
Bros, you are yet to prove that people stopped watching Nigerian league due to European league.

Having a hymen or not is not what determines if you're a virgin or not, having something penetrate your vaginal is what counts as being deflowered.

EOD

Yea but the person in view isn't thinking of Turkey, he's not a spent player nor an upcoming. He should be in the best leagues in the world.

Humility017:
it is not about our preference now...all that matters is game time...prior the world cup...
let him get a club and be playing weekly first....after the world cup...he can then consider leaving for Russia or elsewhere....

some of this players are never ambitous...probably because few literate ones are among them....

Nigeria players are not winning individual awards not because there is dearth of talents...but because many are comfortable being average...sometimes we need to see the extra training many of this players who are world bests or doing some things exceptional engage in....

no achievements comes easy....I remember back then in the university a coursemate and a friend...asked me...how do I used to do it...that he has always been observing me during exams...I always leave my answer sheet full....even when the quetions are hard...I always write well and it shows in my results......I told him there is nothing different I do...other than I go the extra mile...there was hardly a course I don't study the materials and test books...more than 4 times prior exams....

I discover I easily forget somethings I read when I was in secondary school...so when I get to the university I see need to take advantage of that challenge by studying harder and doing more extra work....

just same it is with academics...that's the way it is with careers and endeavours what you commit your time and effort to...yield better results....

Bro, history says otherwise. We are talking Nigeria here. I don't need to type sermon.

Are you saying our stadiums in the 60s, 70s or 80s are better than what we have now or infrastructures we had then are better than now? I leave you to history, facts and figures.

OMANBALA1:
There is no correlation between craze for European football and lack of interest in Nigerians to watch our local leagues. The inability of our local clubs to play attractive football and entertain people is the main reason. Have you ever watched Nigerian league and see what goes on in those matches, its a ffuccking joke,buddy. Very few people will sit down and watch a supposedly professional players playing absolute nonsense. When they start playing beautiful football the news will go around and people will troop in to watch just like we saw with Enugu Rangers 2 seasons ago. Na fine girls boys dey like pursue.

Largely!

OMANBALA1:
You think European football is the reason why people dont go to the stadiums to watch local leagues ?

I prefer him in Russia to Turkey.

Humility017:
woe betide this agent...should musa keep sitting on the bench and even playing for the reserve team....
it goes to show this men are only after the money and not this players careers..

it will gladdens my heart if musa is left out of the world cup party to serve as a deterent to many upcoming young players in the future.....you don't place money over your career progress....

As the crowd Nigerian crowd or an away match?

Danielnino00:
Those were the days when European football was not available for viewing in Nigeria... People had mad passion for the league and clubs..

Don't they have strurrige?

rabzy:
what if salah is injured or lose form. Depth in the squad is good.

I'm not against them buying, just wondering if they were doing that to replace coutinho

NNL Super 4

Starts today with 1 match at Agege Stadium at 4pm.

*The League Management Company, LMC have released the fixtures for the forthcoming 2018 Nigerian Professional Football League season.*

The 2018 NPFL season will kick start on January 14, 2018.

There will be three midweek matches on match days 2, 4 and 5 while the mid-season break will be from April 30 to May 5 and a longer break for the FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15.

Resumption from the World Cup break will be on July 18 and this will be observed with matchday 25 which will be the first of another three mid-week matches in the second stanza of the league. The other two mid-week fixtures will be on matchdays 27 and 29.

*2018 Nigeria Professional Football League [NPFL] – Full Fixtures*

*MD1 14/01*

Kwara United vs Niger Tornadoes

FC Ifeanyi Uba vs Yobe D.  Stars

Wikki Tourist vs Go-Round

Akwa United vs Enugu Rangers

Lobi stars vs Enyimba

Heartland vs Sunshine stars

Katsina United vs Kano Pillars

Nasarawa United vs Plateau United

Rivers United vs EL Kanemi

Abia Warriors vs MFM


*Kickoff 4pm*

*MD2 17/01 Midweek*

Niger Tornadoes vs FC Ifeanyi Uba

Yobe D. Stars vs Wikki Tourists

Go-round vs Akwa United

Enugu Rangers vs Lobi Stars

Enyimba vs Heartland

Sunshine stars vs Katsina United

Kano Pillars vs Nasarawa United

Plateau United vs Rivers United

El Kanemi vs Abia Warriors

MFM vs Kwara United

*Kickoff 4pm*


*MD3 21/01*
FC Ifeanyi Uba vs Kwara United

Wikki Tourists vs Niger Tornadoes

Akwa United vs Yobe D. Stars

Lobi stars vs Go-round

Heartland vs Enugu Rangers

Katsina United vs Enyimba

Nasarawa United vs Sunshine stars

Rivers United vs Kano Pillars

EL Kanemi vs MFM

Abia Warriors vs Plateau Utd
*Kickoff 4pm*

*MD4 24/01 Midweek*
Kwara United vs Wikki Tourists

Niger Tornadoes vs Akwa United

Yobe D. Stars vs Lobi Stars

Go-round vs Heartland

Enugu Rangers vs Katsina United

Enyimba vs Nasarawa United

Sunshine stars vs Rivers United

Kano Pillars vs Abia Warriors

Plateau United vs EL Kanemi

MFM vs FC Ifeanyi Uba

*Kickoff 4pm*

*MD5 28/01 Midweek*
Wikki Tourists vs FC Ifeanyi Uba

Akwa United vs Kwara United

Lobi stars vs Niger Tornadoes

Heartland vs Yobe D. Stars

Katsina United vs Go-round

Nasarawa United vs Enugu Rangers

Rivers United vs Enyimba

Abia Warriors vs Sunshine stars

El Kanemi vs Kano Pillars

Plateau United vs MFM

*MD6 31/01*
FC Ifeanyi Uba vs Akwa United

Kwara United vs Lobi stars

Niger Tornadoes vs Heartland

Yobe Stars vs Katsina United

Go-round vs Nasarawa United

Enugu Rangers vs Rivers United

Enyimba vs Abia Warriors

Sunshine Stars vs EL Kanemi

Kano Pillars vs Plateau United

MFM vs Wikki Tourists


*MD7 04/02*
Akwa United vs Wikki Tourists

Lobi stars vs FC Ifeanyi Uba

Heartland vs Kwara United

Katsina United vs Niger Tornadoes

Nasarawa United vs Yobe stars

Rivers United vs Go-round

Abia Warriors vs Enugu Rangers

El Kanemi vs Enyimba

Plateau United vs Sunshine Stars

Kano Pillars  vs MFM

*MD8 11/02*
Wikki Tourists vs Lobi Stars

FC Ifeanyi Uba vs Heartland

Kwara United vs Katsina United

Niger Tornadoes vs Nasarawa United

Yobe stars vs Rivers United

Go-round vs Abia Warriors

Enugu Rangers vs EL Kanemi

Enyimba vs Plateau United

Sunshine Stars vs Kano Pillars

MFM vs Akwa United


*MD9 18/02*
Lobi Stars vs Akwa United

Heartland vs Wikki Tourists

Katsina United vs FC Ifeanyi Uba

Nasarawa United vs Kwara United

Rivers United vs Niger Tornadoes

Abia Warriors vs Yobe stars

El Kanemi vs Go-round

Plateau United vs Enugu Rangers

Kano Pillars vs Enyimba

Sunshine Stars vs MFM

*MD10 25/02*
Akwa United vs Heartland

Wikki Tourists vs Katsina United

FC Ifeanyi Uba vs Nasarawa United

Kwara United vs Rivers United

Niger Tornadoes vs Abia Warriors

Yobe stars vs EL Kanemi

Go-round vs Plateau United

Enugu Rangers vs Kano Pillars

Enyimba vs Sunshine stars

MFM vs Lobi Stars

It doesn't make sense, should Mahrez even be their target when they have Salah?

elyte89:
Now DT Liverpool wants to sign mahrez,shld iheanacho still embark on bristol loan deal?

What if another club hijack him in the process of waiting?

krattoss:
all ye barca fans rejoice for coutinho has signed for Barcelona. .

but like seriously. .

This Coutinho January move doesn't really make much sense to me..He's not going to play in the champions league and barcelona are comfortable in the league..
They will win la liga without him, he will not be more expensive in d summer, may even be cheaper so why take on the burden of paying his salary between now and june when they don't really need him?

Alone for this kind weather?

Devil wears Prada!

These clubs you mentioned, most of them are just names. currently, only few of them can boast of outstanding players because they are so quick with selling their best.

names don't win matches, players and tactics do. in our league, its been ages since one club get to win the league back to back. for the past 5 years, we have had different winners because players move almost every season. except for Kano pillars who are good at keeping their best, no other club in the last 5 years can boast of having 80% of their first 11 for 2 seasons.

You can't win home and away if you can't even keep your best!

OMANBALA1:
When was the last time Heartland won the League ? Mid table club like Plateau United dont win the league very often just like Leicester United won the EPL but it doesnt happen often. In the past ten years the league trophy has been shared between Enyimba, Kano pillars, Dolphin stars now merged with Sharks united and renamed Rivers United and these are some of the top teams in the league. The only mid table clubs that has won it in the last 10yrs are Bayelsa who pumped huge resources and soon after went to relegation and Plateau United with an excellent manager in Kennedy Boboye.

Yes, indeed , we have top table teams like Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Enugu Ranger ,Rivers United. Heartland used to be one of them before their financial woes they led them to relegation. These clubs I listed are sure win the league nor finish in the top ten ,most often than not.

Thank you for the link.

Danycrusoe:
4 all who say there x too much of last minute penalties and it's a bad thing, please I'm asking should refs now not give genuine penalties cuz it's 90+?

last season I saw ifeanyi ubah come from behind to beat 3sc at home with 2 late penalties and both of the were legitimate ones in fact they should v scored if not 4 the gk brilliancy. the reason we complain about it x because we don't see the games on TV if we do many of our wrong perceptions will change.

in fact most away teams use it as an excuse to becloud their poor performances and ring up controversies that how some away fans (rangers) said the ref had a phone on the field of play and he received a call to favour the home team because Gombe scored 3 times to come from a 2-0 deficit to leaf 3-2 until rangers equalised with a last gasp free kick.

when the highlights were uploaded all the 3 goals the home team scored was legitimate and I don't there was a single pk in it. it was later discovered that rangers fans only made up the rumours and this was confirmed by journalists who saw the game live.

https://mobile.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1494210787297391&id=204176799634136&refid=7&_ft_=qid.6411511267388577384%3Amf_story_key.5261485862841790201%3Atop_level_post_id.1494210787297391

that link is the highlights of ifeanyi ubahs 2 goals in that game.

the Gombe v rangers game ended 3-3 the Link is on npfl page on youtube

Ok sir.

OMANBALA1:
Its a hypothetical proposition,sir.

Thank you.

Danycrusoe:
if ppl do half of wat ur friends do to our local league I bet many things will change. u know how much a return ticket to UK is that alone can get u all the tickets fo all home games for up to 5 npfl clubs ides. but Nigerians love building somebody else's country.

Which kind leg this guy bring come earth na wey just love injury so?

nelszx:
Joel Obi out due to injury at 34 minutes

Is there nothing he can do naturally or medically? Van perse used to suffer alot from injury then it stopped all of a sudden, he should go consult some of these people.

Until security and attendance improves, you cant get the best from the refs, they are human and no one will risk his life for the league that Nigerians don't even care about.
Security for the ref
Crowd attendance should follow suit.

The refs aren't recognized abroad because of these Nigerian factors that has affected their fair performance. put them in a sane environment, see them perform well. i repeated this before. last season 3-5 of our refs were on the continent officiating both for CAF and for FIFA (CCL, ACL, WCQ and NCQ) matches.

tbaba1234:
Sorry about the loss of your uncle.

Until officiating improves, it will be difficult to get the best team in the league because most teams just win at home by all means and get whatever they can away. We celebrate when we get a few away draws/wins in a week.

We still struggle to get Nigerian referees in international competitions.

tbaba1234:
I do not agree that most teams are at par.. It is not true. There are always better teams

Some teams are much better than others. We just do not have a league that reflects that. I have never seen a league that awards so many last minute home penalties. The frequency is worrisome.

I believe that our league table is not reflective of who the best team is, because it is so hard to win away.

Granted, things have improved.

Please name how many outstanding clubs that should be winning away in the league and lets compare their comparative advantage over their opponents.

Maybe you still think name win games in NPFL. if Plateau United could win the league last season and a league winner could go on relegation a season after, then what exactly makes any club superior over the rest. we have like 2-3 above average clubs in the league but the rest are almost at par! (FACT)!

You're talking about last minute PK, yet someone else said the refs are too lenient, so which should we follow?

But you said home always win, 25 away wins is not eldorador but not bad either for a league with alot of issues.

Ubah want to ogun state or was it Ibadan to beat a home team 0:4.

Remember that most clubs are almost at par when it comes to quality, no much difference so don't expect clubs to always win away. You need to be better than your host to win away but they are mostly of same quality.

tbaba1234:
I follow the weekly results. 25 away wins in 380 games is atrocious.

The team with the largest number of away wins had 3 away wins. 3!!! That is ridiculous.

See, we can say there is improvement but we are far from it.

I listed that previously. Must be grade 1 and pass fitness test.

Officiating depends on the environment. I lost an uncle (a ref) in Ibadan in the 90s due to assaults on him by the home fan, so refs use their head when they know security is not guaranteed but places with enough security, they perform like their counterparts anywhere in the world.

tbaba1234:
Minimum requirements for referee training? Officiating is still not very good, is it?

I can't list all the training requirements here but medicals first, diet etc take the front burner.

Last season, we recorded up to 25 away wins, please do more research and change your orientation on the league

tbaba1234:
We do not play better games than north african teams.

There is no viewership because of the poor quality of the league, poor officiating and poor marketing. A league where home teams are destined to win.

Some venue play midweek games around 7pm (MFM most of the time)

mank1234:
Pitch is a very important factor. I watch and enjoy Akwa United matches with no fear of violence unlike in the past when they were using Uyo township stadium. The league is improving.

The league needs followership to make money (ticket sales, TV right, advertisements). If we all stay away and complain, they won't be much improvement. We play better games than some North African and Arab leagues yet they have more spectators. It's not as if we follow European football than them yet they still follow their local league. LMC can't do it alone.

Timing for mid-week games needs to change. 4pm is not favourable at all.

All these are in place already. Home teams don't even pay ref directly, payment goes to the NRA, then NRA pays directly to the refs.

tbaba1234:
LMC can enforce minimum requirements for referees. That would force the NRA to take some action to improve referee quality. Also, the welfare of referees should not be left to host teams.

Danycrusoe:
they are the ones we can use the only thing we can do is ask the Nigeria Referee Association to do more of training, enlightenment and refresher courses for them. Referees inefficiency is not caused by LMC and the LMC can only do little about it. let the NRA do something too

The refs aren't that bad, the Nigerian factor comes in here.

There is a disciplinary sector in the NFRA that deals with erring refs. They are sent to lower divisions and some are suspended for some seasons. Some are dismissed totally from the game.

All refs go through training and seminars are organised multiple times a year. Awards are given to outstanding refs.

Lastly, old legs are being phased out and young ones are being promoted.

Qadri, Ferdinand udoh are FIFA bagded refs and both are very young in age and appearance. They have at least 20 more years in the game. There are other young refs coming up.

Tade Azeez is the NRA president and he's in love with young referees.

You must pass fitness test before you can gain any promotion once you to grade 1. Exams won't get you to officiate in NNL or NPFL unless you pass fitness test which is mostly conducted in Abuja, Ibadan etc.

FIFA also sends ref instructors multiple times a year to Nigeria for those viling to get FIFA badge.

There is nothing done or known abroad that the local refs don't know. It's the same laws of the game we use.