The President The Interim Board of Directors of the Nigeria Professional Football League, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has assured that the new NPFL season will start before the end of the year, PUNCH Sports supplement the reports
Nigeria’s top team has been on hiatus since July when the sports ministry inaugurated the IMC to replace the League Management Company in October.
Reports went viral on Tuesday that the IMC boss gave the hint to journalists in Abuja, and a check by The PUNCH with sources close to Elegbeleye confirmed that the start of a new NPFL season is underway.
Representatives from the 20 clubs in the IMC and NPFL met in Abuja, and Elegbeley revealed that the start date of this season’s elite league would be announced after approval by the Nigeria Football Federation.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the 2022/23 NPFL will start this year. We (IMC and representatives of the 20 NPFL clubs) have agreed on the date but we cannot announce it to the public without the approval of the NFF. The issue of club licenses and when all participating clubs present pitch standards sufficient to be televised , the league will start.
“We already have some sponsors who will allow us to watch the league on television. However, we still need to report the sponsorship to the NFF. What I can assure everyone is that this season’s league will be better than what we are used to,” said Elegbeley.
While the IMC is urging clubs to complete their club licences, with the deadline already over, the level of compliance remains to be seen, with reports that the new NPFL season will be played in an abbreviated format.
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