Football
Club managers kick against Sept. 2 resumption of League season
By Esther Egbe
Some clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) on Thursday in Abuja kicked against the planned resumption of 2017/2018 league season on Sept. 2,National Daily gathered.
These club officials, while reacting to the new resumption date, urged the League Management Company (LMC) to rather end the competition as it is presently.
The club managers added that LMC should declare the clubs leading on the league’s table as the country’s representatives in continental competitions next year. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the league’s resumption after its 2018 FIFA World Cup break was suspended by the LMC in July owing to the NFF crisis.
The league organising company however rolled out a schedule of the outstanding fixtures on Wednesday, with the Proposed Revised Schedule having Match Day 25 fixtures on Sept. 2.
The schedule has the league ending on Oct. 28 with the Match Day 38 fixtures. Chibuzor Etuemena, the Chairman of Heartland Football Club of Owerri, said the new schedule of matches would not only impose financial burden on the clubs but also reduce competition.
“The crisis has already taken its toll on everyone, particularly the clubs who mostly depend on monthly subventions to prosecute their games”. “Now, it is practically impossible to meet the schedule of fixtures released by the LMC in financial terms,’’ he said.
The club chairman also said he found it foolhardy to subject players to such a rigorous schedule in view of the likely medical implications.
The General Manager of Rangers International FC of Enugu, Davidson Owumi, said it would be impossible to prepare the teams technically with the announced schedule.
“With the way things are today, the teams will have to first of all fortify their squads well enough, and it may not be possible to carry out a proper technical preparation for that”.
Paul Bassey, the General Manager of Uyo-based Akwa United FC, was equally in agreement with his colleagues, saying an early ending of the season would even be more beneficial than expected.
Bassey told National Daily that if the domestic leagues were ended now, participating clubs would use the available time for preparations for the 2018/2019 season which has already kicked off in other countries.
“Clubs in the NPFL, Nigeria National League (NNL) and the Nationwide League One (NLO) will use the seven opportunity to prepare for a new season, and the 2018/2019 season has already kicked off in other countries as we all know,’’ he said.
Bassey also contended that Akwa United presently lacked the financial and technical ability to play three matches within eight days across the country.
“Playing matches from Sunday to Wednesday to Sunday and then Wednesday will be difficult for us, and criss -crossing Nigeria is an added problem.
“Let us not forget that clubs which go to Maiduguri and Damaturu on Sunday usually cannot make it back home till Tuesday evening, and if you add that to the Aiteo Cup which will soon begin, then it is herculean and killing,’’ he said.