Abridged league, games back on TV… 5 changes as NPFL returns on Jan 8

After a long break forced by the bureaucratic bottleneck, another season of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is set to begin this weekend.

On January 8, Akwa United will host Bendel Insurance in the first game of the season at the Uyo stadium and the fiesta and theatrics of the NPFL will resume anew.

However, the remaining games of the first matchday have been postponed by a week for logistical reasons.

Despite that, the wait looks to be finally over. Since the last kick was played in July 2022, it took another six months for the organisers to greenlight the start of another season.

This new season comes with a litany of changes that are positive and otherwise. They include the revamping of the league leaders, a probable return of matches to TV, and a jerk up in the money prize.

Below are the changes to expect as the NFPL kicks off this weekend:

RESHUFFLED LEADERSHIP OF NPFL

In September 2022, barely a few months after the completion of the 2021/2022 season, the federal government dismantled the League Management Company (LMC), the body that had overseen the NPFL for close to a decade.

The ministry of sports and youths development has declared LMC as “illegal” and not recognised by the federal government.

The ministry said the status of the LMC is “outside the purview of the Statutes of the NFF”.

An Interim Management Committee (IMC) was formulated to oversee the affairs of the league going forward.

Gbenga Elegbeleye was named the chairman of the IMC, deputised by Paul Bassey as vice-chairman.

While Davidson Owumi was appointed the head of operations.

ABRIDGED LEAGUE FORMAT

The change in leadership of the league forced a delay in the commencement of the league. Responding to the tardiness, IMC proposed an abridged league format for the new season.

The last time the NPFL was shortened was in 2019 when 24 teams competed in the league.

For the 2022/23 season, all 20 clubs are drawn into two groups — A and B — with ten sides in each group.

The top three teams from each group will proceed to a super six tournament that will determine the eventual winner of the campaign.

Defending the decision, Ibrahim Gusau, NFF president, said “people that are going to bring money into the league” demanded that the NPFL must adjust its calendar to fit the rest of the world.

“The issue of playing an abridged league is a child of necessity. We are talking with people that are going to bring money into the league and they want us to make sure that at least we take back our league to the way it is being run in other parts of the world,” he said.

“Therefore, we need to take certain actions before we can get there. Ending our league in May does not mean it stops there. That is not the only issue. The issue here is that we must start next season by August. There is no going back about it.”

GAMES MAY BE BACK ON TV

For the first time after a handful of seasons, the NPFL might be returning to TV screens.

According to Elegbeleye, the IMC has secured sponsorship to that effect.

“Once the issue of club licensing and all the participating clubs present standard pitches good enough to be shown on television, the league will kick off,” he said.

“We have a number of sponsors already that will enable the league to be shown on TV. However, we still need to brief the NFF on sponsorship. What I can assure everyone is that this season’s league will be better than what we are used to.”

However, no former announcement has been made on the development.

N100M PRIZE MONEY

The IMC also announced that the winner of the 2022/23 NPFL season will bag N100 million.

The figure is double the prize earned by Rivers United for winning the 2021/22 season.

“The winner of this season again will get N100m,” Elegbeleye said.

“Mind you, N50m was promised to Rivers United which won the league last season and it has not been paid, so we will not promise what we will not do and we are ready to give Nigerians the best gift.”

N10M TAKE-OFF GRANT FOR CLUBS

On Thursday, all the 20 NPFL clubs were awarded N10 million each as a take-off grant for the upcoming season.

The money was presented to them by the IMC in partnership with GTI Group, an investment bank.

Elegbeleye said the funding serves as an aid to the clubs in their preparation for the new league campaign.