NPFL matches are back

• Published date: 14 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

THE Nest of Champions Stadium in Uyo hosted the opening fixture of the NPFL between Akwa United and old war horse Bendel Insurance FC of Benin, which the Edo State team won 2-0 on Sunday. The biggest poser placed before the Benin side would be if they can stomach a home loss in the second round when Akwa United invade the Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia Stadium. The simple response would be for the organisers, the Interim Management Committee (IMC) to improve on the high standards set in the first game. The other answer would be for the IMC to ensure that there are no sacred cows in the course of the abridged league format adopted this year.

This writer's takeaway from the Uyo opener is that Akwa United FC, which is the team of the IMC Vice Chairman Elder Paul Bassey, took the defeat on the chins without resorting to improper means to either intimidate the referees or beat up their players after the defeat. These lessons shouldn't be lost on the 20 teams, their so-called club owners and the team's erratic fans who normally cause mayhem whenever their teams lose games. This writer isn't shocked that Paul Bassey has firm control of the operations of his team unlike some other club owners who instigate the fans even if Gusau is the referee, Gbenga Elegbeleye first assistant referee and Davidson Owumi is the second assistant referee of the game. Some of these club chairmen would use the lackeys to foment trouble. Others, use the frequent complaints from their losing technical officials to instigate the restive fans to start trouble.

Credit should go to the IMC chieftains for inviting the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau to watch the game. The setting where the top echelon of the game in the country sits at the stands would embolden the match referees to interpret the game's laws without being intimidated by the fans' antics before, during and after matches. The IMC's decision to get a firm to pay referees' indemnities directly to them is the fillip of growth that the domestic league craved in the locust years of the defunct LMC.

The impudence to beat match referees before, during and after clubs' roughnecks, especially after the prompting of some of the so-called club owners arose from the fact that they pay them their indemnities, house them in hotels and provide other logistics such as body-nobi-wood. With such extra hospitality packages, these ill-prepared clubs want victory at all costs. The steel that the new league needs are adequate...