CAF Deadline: LMC brings Nigerian Premier League to premature end

By Chizitelu Munachimso

Nigeria’s football league governing body, the League Management Company (LMC) on Friday ended the Nigerian Premier 14 weeks ahead of its scheduled day of completion.

The decision was reached after an emergency meeting of the body attending by representatives of the 20 participating clubs and members of the executive committee of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

The LMC had been forced into the emergency meeting following the deadline handed by Africa’s football governing body, the Confederation of African Football (CAF)to affiliated national football federations to send in names of their representatives for its club competitions by October.

With the Nigerian Premier League in its 24th week and with 14 weeks left for clubs to conclude hostilities, there was no way the NFF was going to meet the CAF deadline. The LMC in a statement released after the emergency meeting stated that the decision to end the league prematurely was based on the provision of Rule B15.23 of the Framework and Rules of the NPFL. The rule states that: ​​

“Any matter unforeseen or not provided for or, conflict in the interpretation and application of these Rules, shall be dealt with by the LMC as the circumstances require, having regards to the interest of fairness, good sportsmanship and the overall interest of the game of football”.

Leaning on that rule, the LMC in ending the league, declared Lobi Stars, which was leading the log with 43 points after 24 matches, the winner of league:

“Upon consideration of different options (5 possible options were presented), it was unanimously agreed by the 20 NPFL Clubs, that the 2017/2018 season of the NPFL is deemed concluded and the team at the top of the standings – Lobi Stars shall be the representative in the CAF Champions League for 2019 Session starting Nov 2018 to May 2019,”. the LMC said in the statement.
The league body also decided that:

“No team shall be relegated from the NPFL for 2018 Season.

“Four Teams shall be promoted to the NPFL from the Nigeria National League (NNL) from the ongoing 2018 season to compete in the 2018/2019 NPFL season.

“The 2018/2019 NPFL season will commence in November 2018 with a total of 24 participating teams, which shall be divided into two groups of 12 teams each. The 2018/2019 Season commencing November 2018 will be played on 22 Match days ending with a Play off to determine the Winner by May 2019.

“Three teams from each group (a total of six) will be relegated from the NPFL after the conclusion of the 2018/2019 season, while two teams will be promoted to the NPFL from the NNL 2019 Season. This will allow the NPFL to revert to its normal structure of 20 teams as from the 2019/2020 season, and

“The NFF have also endorsed for the 2019 AITEO CUP to commence from September 2018 to end October 14, 2018. The NPFL Teams would be seeded for the CUP competition and the Winner to represent Nigeria in the 2019 CAF Confederation Cup starting November 2019.

The latest move by the LMC has not gone own well with some members of the Nigerian public particularly members of sporting press who have blamed the league body for the unfortunate situation Nigeria found itself with regard to the CAF deadline.

Reacting to the decision, Nnamdi Okosieme one of Nigeria’s most respected sports journalists, describes it as “harebrained”. He said the LMC has to bear responsibility for the unfortunate situation Nigeria found itself that necessitated the league body taking such a “crazy decision”.

Okosieme said the situation had not arisen if the LMC had not decided to suspend the league during the World even when it was clear to all that only one player in the entire league made the it to the final squad of the Super Eagles.

” What was the rationale for the the suspension of the league during the World. Even Russia which hosted the tournament still kept its lower leagues going. Were it not for the fact that most of the the stadia used for the tournament belonged to the clubs in the elite division they probably would have allowed the league to go on side by side with the World Cup,” Okosieme said.

Okosieme, a scion of the high regard football family, described the decision to hand Lobi Stars the title as unjust.

“The Rule B15.23 of the Framework and Rules of the NPFL upon which the LMC relied to take the decision says such action must not only be done with fairness and justice as overarching considerations but that it must also be done in the overall interest of the game,” he said.

“How do you end a league abruptly with 14 matches left for each club to play? How do you do that? Where is the justice in that? It is just plain crazy.

“If they have till October before the CAF window closes, why not keep playing until close to the deadline and then possibly host a knock-out tournament for the top four or six teams?

“Why hand a team only two points ahead of its closest rival and ten points above the eleventh placed team, the title? It’s another word for injustice!,” Okosieme added.