Henrietta Ehiabor advocates straight NWFL Premiership format for 2023/2024 season

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Delta Queens, Henrietta Ehiabor has expressed her preference for a straight league format in the Nigeria Women’s Football League Premiership next season.

The Nigerian women’s topflight had adopted the abridged format over the last decade except in 2013 and 2016.

After the 2022/2023 NWFL Premiership season with Delta Queens as champions, the football administrator, who doubles as NWFL club owners chairperson believes a straight league format will attract sponsorships.

“I prefer the women’s league to be a straight season and not an abridged league particularly because we need to put up something that would attract the growth of the league,” Ehiabor told journalists.

“When I mean attracting the growth of the league, I am looking at sponsors and the sustainability of the league particularly. If you have to sell out the league, you need to offer something.

“Sponsors don’t come to the league because they have something to throw away or around but looking at the marketing strategy of everything. If we have more games, it gives more room for attractions.

“It gives more room to more crowds, publicity, media coverage, and elongated means to bring prosperity into the league. I think we should play a straight league next season.

“There should be a way out because sincerely Delta Queens spent a lot more on the Super Six than the regular season itself. We should have a straight league and not abridged league.”

The decision on the league format to be adopted for the 2023/2024 season will be decided by the new NWFL board.