NPL LONGEST SEASON EVER! - Fixture chaos, clubs groan, players migrate
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- Category: Sports
- Written by David Ngobua
- Hits: 593
The decent story above is not the same in the case of Nigeria Premier League which is said to be modeled after the English Premier League.
The 2010/2011 league season which should have ended long ago is ongoing and nobody can say for sure when it would end. Even the league organizers are left guessing because the fixtures prepared for the season has been abandoned.
Consequently, NPL is heading for its longest season as the 2010/2011 season which began around November last year may end in September 2011 when other leagues across the world would have witnessed a couple of matches in the new season.
Apart from the late start of the season which was as a result of the crises which engulfed the league body after the last elections into the NPL board, clubs continental engagements have forced so many matches to be postponed and rescheduled by the NPL. At least three clubs Enyimba FC, Sunshine Stars and Kaduna United are representing Nigeria in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Nevertheless, the Nigeria Football Federation’s organized Federation Cup has also done the league a huge blow as matches in the competition have moved forward quite a number of the NPL matches.
At the moment, the NPL is at a standstill as some of the clubs are taking part in the group matches of the Federation Cup. Sad enough, full action in the NPL would resume only after the continental competitions and the Federation Cup are concluded.
Shot! investigations have revealed that a thoroughly embattled NPL is battling hard to bring the season to an end with little or no success.
Veteran of the Nigeria league and top official of NPL, Mr. Arthur Kwame explained how the body is striving to salvage what is left of the season.
“We are not ignorant of what is happening. We know exactly how the clubs are feeling about the long season but if you can remember, we did not start the current season in time. It commenced towards the end of 2010 and we thought we would be able to manage the crisis situation and finish in time.
“Unfortunately, we have been battling with so many challenges and it has not been easy to run the season according to plan. Some of our clubs are taking part in continental competitions. We are happy with their performance which is good for the image of the league but the price is equally big. League matches have been postponed severally to accommodate their continental engagements.
“In addition, as we have not been able to harmonize our programmes with those of the Nigeria Football Federation, some of their programmes like the Federation Cup have continued to shift our matches”.
Kwame explained that a tentative fixture which has taken into cognizance the ongoing continental engagements of the clubs and the Federation Cup has been made and would be presented to relevant authorities for consideration and approval.
NPL’s plan is to continue to reschedule all outstanding matches, taking into consideration the two ongoing competitions. If the proposal sails through, NPL may end on September 25. But this is hazy because nobody can say for sure what may happen next, not even NPL itself.
Meanwhile, clubs taking part in the league are not finding this funny as they have continued to lament the inconveniences being faced as a result of the long season.
Kano Pillars General Manager, Alhaji Abba Galadima is not pleased with the development as he said: “it has affected my team negatively.
Physically and mentally it is not good for the players because they have been exposed to too much stress in just one season.
“As things stand, one cannot say for certain when the next league season is going to commence because the 2010/2011 season is ongoing.
This makes it difficult for proper planning. When are we going to have the time to recruit and assess new players?
Vice-Chairman of JUTH FC, Isa Mailafia said: “There is no pretence about the whole thing. The league is haphazardly organized. Nothing is working according to plan. It is a thing of surprise that the season has not come to an end. Where does this lead us to? It will lead to more confusion in the coming months”.
He said JUTH received invitation to travel outside the country for pre-season friendly matches but it is not going to be possible because the season is still on.
“It may interest you to know that we planned to travel aboard for pre-season training with the aim of exposing our players but it is not going to be possible again. Had it been the season ended in time, we would have since embarked on the trip and returned to face the new season”.
Mailafia also blamed the prolonged season on the clash of interest between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Nigeria Premier League.
He said: “The Nigeria Football Federation also contributes substantially to why the season cannot go according to schedule.
Whenever there is a clash of fixtures, the NFF claims supremacy and the NPL takes the back seat. Many matches have been shifted due to the ongoing Federation Cup”.
A former member of the NPL board and Executive Director of Ondo State Sports Commission, Mr. Mike Idoko said the long 2010/2011 season has indeed made nonsense of what was achieved by the immediate past board.
He said an abridged version of the league was organized by the past board to bring it in tandem with the other leagues of the word.
“During our time, we played an abridged league to bring our own league in line with other leagues of the world. It was a major achievement as it enabled us to cut down on the number of players who leave their clubs in the middle of the season to go in search of clubs abroad.
“The only way out of the present confusion is another abridged league.
The league organizers should divide the 20 clubs into two groups. If this is done, the 2011/2012 season may end at the same period with the other leagues”.
From the foregoing, it is glaring that unless a major miracle happens, the 2011/2011 league season will end at a time that clubs would not have any time to reorganize themselves for the 2011/2012 season.
NPL is presently thinking of either playing numerous mid-week matches or playing an abridged league but head or tail, clubs would continue to groan just as the NPL will find it hard to organize a befitting league, if it fails to put its house in order.
For now, the 2010/2011 NPL season which should have long been history is ongoing even as the commencement of the new season in other leagues of the world is few days away. This certainly calls for concern.
Aside, the chaos in the league programme, accolades have continue to come its way because of the recent exploits of Enyimba FC, Sunshine Stars and Kwara United in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. Moment after the clubs’ heroics far away from home, former internationals, Christian Chukwu and Dominic Iorfa were quick to sing the praises of the league to high heavens.
Indeed the league boasts of talents and improved facilities but the same cannot be said about its organization which leaves much to be desired. While other leagues on the continent have continued to record steady progress, the NPL indulges in so much motion without movement.
At present, the much talked about ‘best league’ on the continent does not have a substantive chairman simply because the two gladiators, Davidson Owumi and Baribote Rumson are in court fighting each other for the position of NPL chairman.
Furthermore, Nigeria Premier League is currently without a title sponsor and the league organizers and clubs are daily running around cap in hand for funds. With these and many more, is there any basis for the high rating of the NPL?
NPL LONGEST SEASON EVER! - Fixture chaos, clubs groan, players migrate
Category: Sports Written by David Ngobua Hits: 593
The decent story above is not the same in the case of Nigeria Premier League which is said to be modeled after the English Premier League.
The 2010/2011 league season which should have ended long ago is ongoing and nobody can say for sure when it would end. Even the league organizers are left guessing because the fixtures prepared for the season has been abandoned.
Consequently, NPL is heading for its longest season as the 2010/2011 season which began around November last year may end in September 2011 when other leagues across the world would have witnessed a couple of matches in the new season.
Apart from the late start of the season which was as a result of the crises which engulfed the league body after the last elections into the NPL board, clubs continental engagements have forced so many matches to be postponed and rescheduled by the NPL. At least three clubs Enyimba FC, Sunshine Stars and Kaduna United are representing Nigeria in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Nevertheless, the Nigeria Football Federation’s organized Federation Cup has also done the league a huge blow as matches in the competition have moved forward quite a number of the NPL matches.
At the moment, the NPL is at a standstill as some of the clubs are taking part in the group matches of the Federation Cup. Sad enough, full action in the NPL would resume only after the continental competitions and the Federation Cup are concluded.
Shot! investigations have revealed that a thoroughly embattled NPL is battling hard to bring the season to an end with little or no success.
Veteran of the Nigeria league and top official of NPL, Mr. Arthur Kwame explained how the body is striving to salvage what is left of the season.
“We are not ignorant of what is happening. We know exactly how the clubs are feeling about the long season but if you can remember, we did not start the current season in time. It commenced towards the end of 2010 and we thought we would be able to manage the crisis situation and finish in time.
“Unfortunately, we have been battling with so many challenges and it has not been easy to run the season according to plan. Some of our clubs are taking part in continental competitions. We are happy with their performance which is good for the image of the league but the price is equally big. League matches have been postponed severally to accommodate their continental engagements.
“In addition, as we have not been able to harmonize our programmes with those of the Nigeria Football Federation, some of their programmes like the Federation Cup have continued to shift our matches”.
Kwame explained that a tentative fixture which has taken into cognizance the ongoing continental engagements of the clubs and the Federation Cup has been made and would be presented to relevant authorities for consideration and approval.
NPL’s plan is to continue to reschedule all outstanding matches, taking into consideration the two ongoing competitions. If the proposal sails through, NPL may end on September 25. But this is hazy because nobody can say for sure what may happen next, not even NPL itself.
Meanwhile, clubs taking part in the league are not finding this funny as they have continued to lament the inconveniences being faced as a result of the long season.
Kano Pillars General Manager, Alhaji Abba Galadima is not pleased with the development as he said: “it has affected my team negatively.
Physically and mentally it is not good for the players because they have been exposed to too much stress in just one season.
“As things stand, one cannot say for certain when the next league season is going to commence because the 2010/2011 season is ongoing.
This makes it difficult for proper planning. When are we going to have the time to recruit and assess new players?
Vice-Chairman of JUTH FC, Isa Mailafia said: “There is no pretence about the whole thing. The league is haphazardly organized. Nothing is working according to plan. It is a thing of surprise that the season has not come to an end. Where does this lead us to? It will lead to more confusion in the coming months”.
He said JUTH received invitation to travel outside the country for pre-season friendly matches but it is not going to be possible because the season is still on.
“It may interest you to know that we planned to travel aboard for pre-season training with the aim of exposing our players but it is not going to be possible again. Had it been the season ended in time, we would have since embarked on the trip and returned to face the new season”.
Mailafia also blamed the prolonged season on the clash of interest between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Nigeria Premier League.
He said: “The Nigeria Football Federation also contributes substantially to why the season cannot go according to schedule.
Whenever there is a clash of fixtures, the NFF claims supremacy and the NPL takes the back seat. Many matches have been shifted due to the ongoing Federation Cup”.
A former member of the NPL board and Executive Director of Ondo State Sports Commission, Mr. Mike Idoko said the long 2010/2011 season has indeed made nonsense of what was achieved by the immediate past board.
He said an abridged version of the league was organized by the past board to bring it in tandem with the other leagues of the word.
“During our time, we played an abridged league to bring our own league in line with other leagues of the world. It was a major achievement as it enabled us to cut down on the number of players who leave their clubs in the middle of the season to go in search of clubs abroad.
“The only way out of the present confusion is another abridged league.
The league organizers should divide the 20 clubs into two groups. If this is done, the 2011/2012 season may end at the same period with the other leagues”.
From the foregoing, it is glaring that unless a major miracle happens, the 2011/2011 league season will end at a time that clubs would not have any time to reorganize themselves for the 2011/2012 season.
NPL is presently thinking of either playing numerous mid-week matches or playing an abridged league but head or tail, clubs would continue to groan just as the NPL will find it hard to organize a befitting league, if it fails to put its house in order.
For now, the 2010/2011 NPL season which should have long been history is ongoing even as the commencement of the new season in other leagues of the world is few days away. This certainly calls for concern.
Aside, the chaos in the league programme, accolades have continue to come its way because of the recent exploits of Enyimba FC, Sunshine Stars and Kwara United in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup. Moment after the clubs’ heroics far away from home, former internationals, Christian Chukwu and Dominic Iorfa were quick to sing the praises of the league to high heavens.
Indeed the league boasts of talents and improved facilities but the same cannot be said about its organization which leaves much to be desired. While other leagues on the continent have continued to record steady progress, the NPL indulges in so much motion without movement.
At present, the much talked about ‘best league’ on the continent does not have a substantive chairman simply because the two gladiators, Davidson Owumi and Baribote Rumson are in court fighting each other for the position of NPL chairman.
Furthermore, Nigeria Premier League is currently without a title sponsor and the league organizers and clubs are daily running around cap in hand for funds. With these and many more, is there any basis for the high rating of the NPL?