NPFL to start December 27, says Sports Minister

By Akeem Lawal

THE Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has confirmed December 27, as the kick-off date for the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League season, Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports.

 

While briefing Journalists at the National Stadium, Surulere in Lagos on Friday, the sports minister said there is need to ensure that the right things in the League concerning Club licensing and financial regulations are adhered to.

 

“In December last year, I made those concerned to know in my speech. I talked about the unpredictability of our league calendar, even without COVID-19. And then COVID-19 came and even worsens that unpredictability which makes it unattractive to any sponsor or investor. 

 

“I talked about the need to also have transparency and openness in the administration of our league. I am talking about the whole ecosystem of referees, coaches and also the players, which dovetails into the question of licensing regulations, financial regulations and so on.

 

“I also spoke about the need to start to walk away from this corruption tag that has dominated every aspect of our football administration because it also wears down the attractiveness of the domestic league as it is. The investors will not come, the sponsors will walk away. Without sponsors and investors, the league will die. That is the heart of the matter.

 

“I am worried that after COVID-19 we’ve not been able to start. For me, that worry is limited by the fact that we have listened to different stakeholders and we have also studied and found out that lack of enforcement of regulations was one of the major problems. Sometimes when you want to fix a problem, it takes time. Which is why I made the pronouncement several months back that lets have this enforcement made so that at least if we can not solve all the problems, we can even solve the one that is statute.

 

“So part of the delay is that we have been waiting for them, given people enough time. When you look at those conditions, the one that is toughest to me is having the stadium and we are willing to extend the time. N200 million bank guarantee and the benchmark, I can tell you that, even though it is taking so long, it will start, we are about to start. By the 27th of this month, we hope the professional league will come back.

 

“It is not the question of Christmas or New Year, let’s get the league started. There are so many countries that have their athletes in camp during Christmas and New Year, even in this country, we’ve had it. I think we have to get things started. We are working with the NFA and they have updated us. We will have another meeting with them tomorrow to examine what we have so far. The details and what needs to be done. We just need to get the league started,” he said.