- As NPFL Youth League debuts
Nigerian clubs are in for a real test as Kano Pillars and FC IfeanyiUbah file out tomorrow for the opening match of the 2017 Nigerian Professional Football League. Top officials of the league and other dignitaries across the federation are billed to converge in Kano for the first match of the series.
The following day, Shooting Stars Football Club of Ibadan will be at home to Lobi Stars of Makurdi, in a match that may bring the best out of the Oluyole Boys, who are striving hard to redeem the image of the club.
The proposed match between the Mountain of Fire and Miracles FC and Niger Tornadoes are also billed to give Lagos fans the worth of their money at the Agege Stadium, as ABS of Ilorin takes on Akwa United of Akwa Ibom.
Rivers United are in killer mood to rattle El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, as defending champions, Rangers International battle Abia Warriors.
Katsina United play host to Gombe United, while Remo Stars test might against Plateau United, as Enyimba International tackle Sunshine Stars of Akure in the first stanza of the league.
Meanwhile, the NPFL had revealed that clubs will from this season raise youth teams for players aged 15 years and below to compete in the new NPFL Youth League. This is even as the League Management Company declared a surplus/savings of N483 million in its operations for the 2015/16 NPFL season.
These were contained in the financial report submitted by the Chairman of the LMC, Shehu Dikko, and accepted with commendations at the Annual General Meeting of the LMC held in Enugu recently.
Other high points of the AGM resolutions include: the approval of the LMC’s proposal for a Youth League tournament in partnership with LaLiga, that all clubs will participate in; the endorsement of a new bonus/ incentives structure as proposed by the LMC; approval of the club merchandising proposal by the LMC, to deploy part of the clubs’ revenue from source for payment of clubs’ jersey replicas and the election of clubs’ representatives to serve on the LMC Board.
In one of its 22 points resolutions, the AGM, made up of the 20 NPFL clubs, the Nigeria Football Federation and the LMC Independent Directors, noted that it received and approved a detailed presentation of the LMC income and expenditure report from the 2015/16 season.
