NPFL clubs shouldn’t prepare to fail again

Before I go into the topic of the day, let me take this time to commiserate with the government and people of Kano State on the tragic incident that involved the 22 athletes and officials who lost their lives when returning from the just concluded National Sports Festival. At the moment, the whole country is mourning this national tragedy, which is the first since the inception of the National Sports Festival (NSF) in 1973.

By the special grace of God, I will share my thoughts on this unfortunate incident next weekend because it is necessary to remind us that what has brought us so much pain and sorrow was another man-made disaster that could have been avoided.

Now, let’s look at the topic of the day. On Wednesday, June 4, the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Club Owners’ Forum and the management of the league held an expanded meeting in Abuja. It was a successful meeting by the standard set by the conveners, but the forum focused more on praise-singing and self-glorification.

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The meeting passed a vote of confidence on the following: the NFF president, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the NPFL leadership under Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye and the Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owunmi, the National Sports Commission (NSC), as well as club owners and the state governments.

In fairness, the meeting also deliberated and made useful recommendations on the proposed amendment to the NPFL Framework and Rules. The two major items considered for immediate implementation were enhanced life and injury insurance schemes for players and officials, as well as improved post-match conference protocols aimed at increasing media engagement and professionalism.

Furthermore, the forum considered the urgent need for the clubs to intensify efforts at sourcing alternative revenue streams, particularly through strategic sponsorships, merchandising, media rights and other commercial initiatives to ensure financial sustainability.

More importantly, it emphasized the critical importance of security at league match venues, calling on all state football associations to double their efforts at ensuring effective security arrangements during matches as the responsibility for match-day security lies primarily within their jurisdiction.

Although the meeting acknowledged receipt and deliberated on the proposed calendar for the 2025/2026 NPFL season, with a call on all stakeholders to align operational activities to ensure a seamless implementation, it didn’t go further to state categorically the date the new season would kick off.

Well, what many of us are still happy with is the successful harmonisation of the domestic league calendar with the top leagues in Europe. In recent times, the NPFL has not started early and ended according to schedule like we have witnessed this season. In fact, the 2025 season NPFL started on August 31, 2024 and ended on Sunday, May 25, the same day the English Premiership, the LaLiga, and Serie A concluded their seasons.

This is no doubt a laudable feat that has shown deliberate effort on the part of the NPFL board to abandon the old order when the league was run haphazardly. It was truly gratifying that the domestic league ran concurrently with the developed leagues in Europe. The Elegbleye-led board truly deserves a pat on the back.

However, it is already known that the 2025/2026 English Premier League (EPL) season will start on August 16, but we are yet to know when precisely the new NPFL season will kick off. This was what the Abuja meeting failed to address. In any case, the board has hinted that the new season will kick off in the first week of August, which means there are plans to maintain the harmonised calendar.

What is still worrisome is that even as the transfer window in Europe is open and bubbling with activities, nothing seems to be happening in the NPFL as all the clubs have embarked on end of season break. This is setting the tone for another fire-brigade exercise. The clubs have gone on long holidays to resume either June or July. Maybe, as it has become a norm, they are waiting to commence full preparations on the eve of kickoff.

In other climes, there is nothing like a complete break for the clubs and league management. Activities are continuous. Therefore, the NPFL clubs should be made to understand that the transfer window is one of the important pre-season rituals that interest enthusiastic fans who monitor it to know the calibre of players that are coming into their clubs and those who are leaving.

So, the league has ended, but the clubs shouldn’t shut down their activities completely as if there was no tomorrow.
Although players are also human and are supposed to enjoy some rest after a hectic season, the NPFL clubs that have qualified for the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup shouldn’t have approved lengthy holidays for their players. This is because the continental clubs have enormous tasks ahead of them.

For so many years now, no Nigerian club has reached the CAF Champion League group stage, not to talk of the quarter-finals. This is quite embarrassing, considering the pedigree of Nigeria in international football. Therefore, those clubs with the tickets to represent the country in the continent should have priortised early and adequate preparations for their respective competitions.

However, even as players need time to recharge and recover from injuries suffered during the past season, maybe two weeks break would have been enough for the continental clubs to take a breather and resume training. The precious time the players will waste in the name of long holidays should have been utilised with high-profile friendly matches for them to maintain match fitness.

This is a passionate appeal to the clubs, especially Remo Stars, Rivers United and Abia Warriors, who have since qualified for CAF competitions to begin early preparations for the challenges ahead. Unlike before, the 2025 season was concluded in time, leaving them with ample time to prepare. If they decide to behave lackadaisical again, they will be the ones to blame once they fumble and wobble out of the continent again.

Despite the need for the clubs to strengthen their squads by bringing in new players, they must apply caution as complete overhauling of the playing staff might attract dire consequences. This is due to the fact that there may not be enough time for blending. Rebuilding of teams shortly before the commencement of major competitions is a double-edged sword that must be handled with utmost care.

While the clubs are expected to put their houses in order, the NPFL Board and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) must be on standby to guide them. Of course, Remo Stars and Rivers United are not new to continental football, but the same can’t be said of Abia Warriors and the other club that will be coming to join them in the Confederation Cup. They need close monitoring and mentoring by the football authorities to ensure that they understand and comply with CAF’s club licensing procedures.

There is no time to waste. The NPFL management should announce a specific date for the kickoff of the 2025/2026 season. And the clubs, especially those for the continental competitions, should commence preparations in earnest.