NPFL: IMC boss Elegbeleye confirms kickoff date, clears air on league format row

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

The Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Gbenga Elegbeleye has confirmed the kick-off date for the 2022/2023 league season.

The season which was initially slated to kick off on December 28, 2022, will now kick off on January 8, 2023, while  the prize money of a whooping 100 million naira will be recieved by the eventual league winners.

“On Wednesday, December 28, we will have the draw by God’s grace. Then the league will start on January 8. Before then, we promised to give support through our sponsors to clubs and we will do that,” the former NSC director general said on Kennis FM’s Sports Salsa.

“We had a four-team pre-season tournament with each club given 10 Million Naira as a participation fee and the winning team has already been given 100 million Naira prize money. We don’t give promises about what we can’t do.

“We want to give them financial support to start the league. The winner of this coming season will get 100 million Naira. 50 million was promised Rivers United which won the league last season. Nothing has been given to them right now. We are ready to give Nigerians the best league.”

A lot of misconceptions have trailed the outcome of earlier meeting held between the Club Owners and IMC officials last Wednesday in Abuja, with the former refusing to accept the abridged league format proposed by the latter.

“We met with the club Chairmen twice and told them that we have the mandate to finish the league in May so as to conform with the international football calendar to ensure that Nigeria would not be left behind in the comity of Nations in terms of football activities that suit the global event,” he continued.

“We told them that they should pick any format of their choice to ensure that we end the league in May. We were trying to be more flexible. When they returned, they said they can’t end the league in May.

“They wanted the league to end in July with two options. The first option is that the league will end in July and when CAF ask for the list of football clubs to represent Nigeria in CAF competitions, we should give them the first four teams as at the time they ask for the teams.

“How can we nominate teams to represent us without finishing the league? That would not be very okay for us. At the end of the day, the four teams picked might not be in the top four by the time we concluded the league. That means we gave slots to clubs that actually don’t merit it.

“The second option given to us is that those clubs that represented us last season in CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup should be given automatic tickets to go again. How can we do this? Why are we now competing?

“That means Rivers United, Plateau United, Remo Stars, and Kwara United will be given automatic qualification to go and represent Nigeria in CAF competitions because they are the ones that won the slots last season. We feel on the part of the IMC that isn’t competitive at all. I am surprised that some clubs agreed to this because every club wants to compete for these slots. Why are giving it to four out of twenty and the rest sixteen teams agreed to it.”

In order to meet up with deadline that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will give for the submission of representatives and make the league competitive, the IMC Chairman said it is imperative to adopt the abridged league format.

“We decided that we want competition and will finish for clubs to represent us. That’s why we have been going to CAF competitions and the clubs are knocked out at the first stage. Nigeria needs to do well in CAF competitions,” he buttressed.

“We approached the NFF and they instructed us to finish the league by May with a mandate with the information of using an abridged league. Abridged league for two seasons. According to NFF and IMC calculations, we will not be able to finish the league if we go full-blown before May.

“Secondly, the election year is 2023. We would not want to risk the lives of our footballers during the election period due to the period and hit of the campaign as the league will be on holiday during the period. We don’t pray for conflict or crisis during elections but it is good to play safe.

“The life of footballers is more important to us. In 2019, we had an abridged league and the Champions of the abridged league performed well in the Champions League to give us the current four slots that we are enjoying now.

“It will be unfair to the players to declare that clubs that represented us last season should go ahead next season in the CAF Competitions. Footballers want to compete for honours and be seen fighting for the league.

“It would be very unfair to the state government which are spending a lot of money on clubs. It’s not fair to Nigerians, footballers, and the league system in Nigeria. We need to improve and move on.”

Twenty teams will on Wednesday be divided into two groups of ten teams with the top two teams playing in the season-ending Super Four to decide Nigeria’s representatives in the continent and the league champions.