By Daily Sports Nigeria on July 3, 2023

The abridged league format adopted by the Interim Management Committee for the just concluded football season in the elite cadre in Nigeria did not go well with many club owners, footballers and stakeholders in general.

It was a tough battle to get the 20 teams in the Nigeria Professional Football League to embrace the abridged league but the IMC under the leadership of Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye explained that it was important to use the format to ‘right’ the ‘wrongs’ in the domestic football system.

Good enough, the IMC delivered its mandate in a credible way. The regular season ended in May just as in many parts of Africa and Europe and in June, the Super Six competition took place in Lagos where Enyimba of Aba emerged as the champions.

There were hiccups here and there but in the end, Remo Stars, a team that stole the show in the entire playoffs grabbed the second ticket to play in the CAF Champions League while Rivers United, another enterprising team, won the ticket to feature in the CAF Confederation Cup for Nigeria.

In the crucial game between Remo Stars and Rivers United, Remo got a late goal and were looking good for the three points but somehow in a dramatic way, the team again conceded another goal within seconds to settle for a draw.

That win would have earned the Kunle Soname Boys the league title but the players were inexperienced to manage the situation. And so Enyimba, Remo and Rivers with two wins and three draws finished on 9 points each with goal difference separating them on the ladder. It was very impressive to watch all the matches of the Super Six on television with amazing goals recorded by the teams.

This was the target of the IMC especially about the reason that informed the abridged format. Speaking on the playoffs and the entire season, IMC boss, Elegbeleye said: “We had our plans intact and we followed it all through.

The sponsors, GTI, were really helpful by paying the referees duly and every step we took with our sincere intentions worked out well for us. Glory to God for a season well delivered as we planned.” It did not come as a surprise that the Nigeria Football Federation extended the tenure of the IMC to again kickstart the new season to bring a good template in the domestic elite league.

This is commendable. Insurance of Benin after falling to pick a ticket in the Super Six, had another lifeline in the Federation Cup final. They had Rangers of Enugu to contend with but somehow, they were able to overcome the Flying Antelopes with a 1-0 victory at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Delta State.

Insurance were undefeated in the regular abridged season and only lost two games in the playoffs. The run recorded by the Edo team was good enough for a continental ticket and so it was good they grabbed the last ticket to play in the Confed Cup.

Now that the four teams representing the country on the continent are known, it is important to talk about the continental drive of these teams for next season. The excuse of the teams not doing well has always been on calendar imbalance and now that it has been aligned, there should be no excuse.

Enyimba, Remo Stars, Rivers United and Insurance of Benin should get the best players needed for the continental campaign and ensure they compete well to win laurels for Nigeria. It is also expected that the new season will kick off in August even before the start of the continental games.

The way things are, the usual excuses are not there for the representatives of the country on the continent, all thanks to the Elegbeleye-led IMC. Enyimba and others must make it count just as I expect the NFF to give these teams all the support needed to excel in the CAF competitions.

The template for a good performance has been provided for these teams to do well while we also expect domestic league players to make the Super Eagles team.

Source New Telegraph

Posted July 3, 2023

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