Prior to the kick-off of the 2022/2023 abridged Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season, the Interim Management Company (IMC), led by Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, announced that five clubs had failed to meet the infrastructure requirements of Club Licensing regulations and will be playing their home matches at other approved venues.
The affected clubs that failed to provide up-to-standard stadium facilities to host matches based on requirements of Club Licensing are Enugu Rangers, Kwara United, Niger Tornadoes, Lobi Stars and Nasarawa United
It will be recalled that pursuant to FIFA and CAF directives and in particular CAF circular dated November 26, 2013, on Clubs’ Licensing System, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) adopted the NFF Clubs Licensing Regulations which is the basic document for Club Licensing System in Nigeria,
through which different members of the football family aim to promote common principles in the world of football such as sporting value, transparency in their finances, ownership and control of clubs, players and coaches welfare, and the credibility and integrity of club competitions.
Davidson Owumi, the Head of Operations of the IMC, therefore said that in strict adherence to the provisions of the NPFL Club Licensing Regulation, clubs that fail requirements will be held accountable.
We want to get it right from the start and this can only be achieved when the rules are followed”, he said then.
His stand was re-echoed by the IMC chairman, Hon. Elegbeleye who said that the committee is adopting a holistic approach to develop a framework to reposition the league in line with the mandate given it by the NFF and the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports.
Elegbeleye noted that the committee is committed to ensuring that the NPFL is henceforth organised in line with global best practices.
Consequently, Aper Aku stadium Makurdi, Bako Kotangora stadium Minna, Lafia Township stadium in Lafia, Kwara Township stadium in Ilorin and Nnamdi Azikiwe International stadium Enugu were axed by the IMC for lacking standard playing pitches and other critical facilities like dressing rooms, floodlight and electronic scoreboard
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