10 reasons why NPL not Africa's No.1
Sunshine vs Dolphin - Ajani scores against Sunday Rotimi of Dolphin
Nigeria league Africa's best
The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has been rated as the best in
Africa, but MTNFootball.com outlines 10 major reasons why it is not so.
1. Players play on empty stomachs
The players play under very difficult conditions, from irregular payment of monthly salaries to sign-on fees being unpaid for several years.
Philip Auta famously lamented the players played with empty stomachs when Enyimba won their sixth NPL crown two years ago.
This season, the clubs, from champions Dolphin to Niger Tornadoes, have gone on strike to press for the payment of their various monies.
Medical care and insurance cover are almost non-existent for the players in the NPL.
2. Please, where are the fans?
Most NPL matches are played in virtually empty stadiums with only the likes of Kano Pillars and Enyimba attracting big attendances.
The fans have deserted the arenas for fear of their safety and the standard of the football on offer.
3. Where is the credibility?
The clubs still complain about biased officiating and harassment by rival fans so much so that most fans do not believe in the integrity of the competition.
4. Hooliganism
This season, like previous seasons, several clubs have been sanctioned for crowd trouble by being directed to play behind closed doors or banished to neutral venues.
5. Squabbles and more squabbles
Since the exit of long-serving chairman Oyuki Obaseki, there has been a lingering tussle for the leadership of the Nigeria Premier League. Davidson Owumi has been deposed, while Victor Baribote’s appointment is still contested by Akin Akinbobola.
Baribote’s leadership style has also stirred controversies and the wrong headlines.
6. Show us the money
The NPL is strapped of cash as they are yet to decide on a title sponsor for the second straight season.
The clubs are also complaining that they are yet to receive a kobo from the sale of television rights for the competition for the past six years.
The prize money for the NPL champions is five million Naira or $31,000...
7. Clubs remain government properties
Government has proved to be a bad manager of businesses, from NITEL to NEPA, and so it has been with the football clubs.
All but ABS FC of Ilorin are owned by state governments, meaning the clubs are poorly run and are under pressure to source for funds outside the easy cash they receive from their various state governments.
8. Enyimba have failed
Enyimba raised the bar when they won the CAF Champions League back to back in 2003 and 2004.
Sadly though, they have failed to improve on this in the form of owning a befitting club house and a sporting complex that would have challenged other clubs to do so going forward.
9. The NPL not hot news
The local media have virtually blacked out the NPL, while at the same time hyping on the English Premier League and other European leagues.
Nigerian football fans are first Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United fans before they are fans of Pillars or Enyimba.
10. Are there stars here?
Partly due to the poor media coverage of the league and the lure to play overseas, the NPL can hardly boast of genuine stars.
Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has since last year given players in the NPL some sense of belonging in his team and they are now starters and not “training materials” for the national team.
But even some of these NPL players discovered by Keshi like Gabriel Reuben and Godfrey Oboabona are now on their way to greener pastures this summer.
1. Players play on empty stomachs
The players play under very difficult conditions, from irregular payment of monthly salaries to sign-on fees being unpaid for several years.
Philip Auta famously lamented the players played with empty stomachs when Enyimba won their sixth NPL crown two years ago.
This season, the clubs, from champions Dolphin to Niger Tornadoes, have gone on strike to press for the payment of their various monies.
Medical care and insurance cover are almost non-existent for the players in the NPL.
2. Please, where are the fans?
Most NPL matches are played in virtually empty stadiums with only the likes of Kano Pillars and Enyimba attracting big attendances.
The fans have deserted the arenas for fear of their safety and the standard of the football on offer.
3. Where is the credibility?
The clubs still complain about biased officiating and harassment by rival fans so much so that most fans do not believe in the integrity of the competition.
4. Hooliganism
This season, like previous seasons, several clubs have been sanctioned for crowd trouble by being directed to play behind closed doors or banished to neutral venues.
5. Squabbles and more squabbles
Since the exit of long-serving chairman Oyuki Obaseki, there has been a lingering tussle for the leadership of the Nigeria Premier League. Davidson Owumi has been deposed, while Victor Baribote’s appointment is still contested by Akin Akinbobola.
Baribote’s leadership style has also stirred controversies and the wrong headlines.
6. Show us the money
The NPL is strapped of cash as they are yet to decide on a title sponsor for the second straight season.
The clubs are also complaining that they are yet to receive a kobo from the sale of television rights for the competition for the past six years.
The prize money for the NPL champions is five million Naira or $31,000...
7. Clubs remain government properties
Government has proved to be a bad manager of businesses, from NITEL to NEPA, and so it has been with the football clubs.
All but ABS FC of Ilorin are owned by state governments, meaning the clubs are poorly run and are under pressure to source for funds outside the easy cash they receive from their various state governments.
8. Enyimba have failed
Enyimba raised the bar when they won the CAF Champions League back to back in 2003 and 2004.
Sadly though, they have failed to improve on this in the form of owning a befitting club house and a sporting complex that would have challenged other clubs to do so going forward.
9. The NPL not hot news
The local media have virtually blacked out the NPL, while at the same time hyping on the English Premier League and other European leagues.
Nigerian football fans are first Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United fans before they are fans of Pillars or Enyimba.
10. Are there stars here?
Partly due to the poor media coverage of the league and the lure to play overseas, the NPL can hardly boast of genuine stars.
Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has since last year given players in the NPL some sense of belonging in his team and they are now starters and not “training materials” for the national team.
But even some of these NPL players discovered by Keshi like Gabriel Reuben and Godfrey Oboabona are now on their way to greener pastures this summer.
At BITWELL PHIRI: Perhaps you should learn how to spell first, before making any futile inference
about something. When was the last time a South African team won the African Champions
League? You are only espousing the S.A league because frankly, you are an adherent, just like
most people nowadays. The Black Man's curse. You do not want any Black Nation to be on top.
But you would prefer it were a country in which White people are officious. Furthermore, no one
cares where you are from, if all you are presenting are deleterious words.
am zambian,but honestly speaking,even all of u nigerians know deepdown yo hearts that the south african league is by far the best in africa & one of the best in the world,dont just suport just because its yo country lets be honest
Mad goat,jealous f-ucking fool like u,we didn't name ourselves d best.u hear is fifa.so get that into ur jealour rotty ghana or s.a brain.we are the best o yes,and fifa ranked us as no.1 bcos of our talents and our league is very competitive with lot of foreigners also playing here.the NPL PRODUCED TALENTS SUCH AS ODEMWINGIE,MIKEL,MARTINS,AHMED MUSA,NSOFOR,TAYE TAIWO,ENYEMA,YOBO,YAKUBU,UTAKA, 2 MENTION BUT A FEW. Now listen 2 me u mad fool is it The south africa league which lacks quality n talent,even ordinary championship club in nigeria wil defeat the champ of ABSA or is it d egypt league where 70 football fans where killed during a match,have u ever heard dat in d NPL dat a single fan die.u see y we are no 1 is bcos we are d best.
10 REASON Y NPL IS NO 1 IN AFRICA.
1.the league is very competitive with raw and fresh talent which can hold their own against ani team in d world.
2.ALL D NPL STADIUM ARE WORLD CLASS WITH GOOD PITCHES
3.D REFREEING HAS IMPROVE ALOT AS A YEAR AGO NIGERIAN REF. Were trained BY THEIR FOREIGN COUNTER PART.
4.THEIR MEDICAL SERVICES HAS IMPROVED ALOT
5.FANS ARE NOW FOLLOWING D GAME.AS D NPL MANAGEMENT HAS TRY 2 MAKE D LEAGUE MORE ATTRACTIVE.
6.NT ALL D CLUBS ARE OWN BY D GOVT.N DOS OWN BY GOVT HAVE BEEN OPEN 2 PURCHASES.
7.NEVER B4 HAS GOVT. Pay D PLAYERS THEIR WAGES AS THEY ARE DOING NOW.EVEN CAR GIFTS WERE PRESENTED 2 DOLPINS 4 WINNING D NPL PLUS LOT OF CASH PRIZE.SO D PLAYER ARENT HUNGRY.
8.d LEADERSHIP TUSSLE HAS LONG B SETTLED
9.PARTNERSHIP N SPONSORS ARE COMING
10.FIFA LOVES US N NO WE ARE D BEST! Lot of talents
Imbeciles like you are the reason why Africa does not prosper. It wasn't Nigerians that said they had the best league in Africa, it was Europeans ergo, that judgment must be impartial then.
REJOINDER:
1. Players in the NPL do not look poorly fed. If any of them has begged for food, please say so.
2. There are fans as many or more than there are in other African countries. Watch
Supersports 9.
3. NPL Refs have improved over the years and are even picked by CAF and FIFA to officiate.
4. Hooliganism. This is all over the world. Russia, Egypt, South Africa, etc. Pitch invasion not
perculiar to Nigeria.
5. Squables? Human beings must always disagree to agree. NPL is not a grave yard.
6. Money? Even Man U has no money to buy players. They ask for price and leave it there.
7. There is no how government will not be involved in football. Govt. is for the people, mind u.
8. Enyimba's disappointing CAF Champion League performance. All football clubs move up
and down in performances. Prove me wrong.
9. No black out of NPL in the Nigerian sports media. Editors only use EPL's sreeming
headlines to sell their papers and use inside pages for NPL stories. Won't they pay their
staff?
10. Football stars? In which other African leagues can you find stars more than Nigeria?
If you have other points, please list them out, because the above 10 points have suffered
paralysis.
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