IMC readjusts dates for remaining NPFL games, offers reassurance on fixtures fidelity

By Wale Mustapha

The Interim Management Committee, IMC has reassured stakeholders of Nigeria Premier Football League of seamless running of remaining NPFL fixtures.

The NPFL organizers that  fixtures would be played as scheduled except for those already disrupted by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) competition games that involved Rivers United following their exit from the CAF Confederation Cup in aftermath of a 2-0 aggregate quarterfinal defeat to Young Africans in Dar es Salam.

The defending champions are campaigning in Group B of the abridged NPFL with some outstanding fixtures due to their engagements on the continent as the IMC are bracing up for the last two games of the season.

While announcing Matchday 17 will be played this week, IMC’s Head of Operations, Davidson Owumi acknowledged that the last matches of Group B, including Rivers United will be finished simultaneously on a yet-to-be known date.

“Our fixtures fidelity has been proven from the kickoff and we are working to accommodate Rivers United outstanding games to ensure the season is concluded with minimal blip,” Owumi told IMC media.

“While we work around dates to reschedule outstanding matches of Rivers United, the weekend games will be played as scheduled in the two groups. We won’t be distracted by incendiary comments or actions from any quarters.

“Our desire is to see Nigerian clubs go all the way in the competition and this will naturally affect our fixtures just as it does elsewhere. All we need to do is to find acceptable dates that won’t unduly pile pressure on our representatives and that’s what we are going to do in the coming days.

“After the MatchDay 17, Group B matches would be paused to allow Rivers United complete their backlog and we hope to accomplish this within the month.”