Nigerian Premier League season in disarray

The Nigerian Premier League has been on break since the end of the 2011/2012 season in September, 2012. The kick off date for the 2012/2013 has been postponed on several occasions. The league doesn't have a bonafide board as at now. The last season was prosecuted without a recognised title sponsor. The sponsorship of Africa's most populous nation has been a major tussle in the past two years.

The problem started when the 2010 league board signed a contract with Total Promotions Limited(TPL.) TPL bidded for the sponsorship of the league along with Globacom limited. The latter had sponsored the league from 2003 to 2009, but they owed the league clubs about 900 million Naira ($5.6 million.)

The Nigerian Premier League (NPL) board refused to sign a new contract at the end of the 2009/2010 season. TPL and glo submitted their bids, but the former represented MTN Nigeria Limited and they offered a higher sponsorship deal. The NPL board decided to announce them as the winner of the bid. At a press conference in late 2010, the NPL announced MTN as the new title sponsor of the Nigerian League.

Globacom challenged the decision on the ground that they didn't know the true identity of whom they were contesting with. They accused MTN of gaining undue advantage over them by using TPL as their official bidding partner. Glo took the matter to a law court and the 2010/2011 season was played without a title sponsor, although some smaller organizations donated some money to the NPL board.

The NPL had leadership issues in 2010 and they failed to settle it till the end of 2012. Davidson Onwumi won the election in 2010 as the chairman of the body, but his competitors took him to court. After a power tussle that also involved the Nigerian Football Federation, Onwumi was sacked and the MTN deal was cancelled.

In 2012, Victor Baribote won a court case to remove the former chairman. The Bayelsa-born man ran what could be described as the worst league in the history of Nigerian football. Clubs were asked to pay the wages of referees. A lot of irregularities ensued as a result of the lack of a title sponsor.

At the end of the 2011/2012 season, Kano Pillars were crowned the champions of the NPL, while Enugu Rangers finished as runners-up. Three months after the completion of the league, the NPL has been dissolved. An interim board has been put in place to run the league in 2013, but they are yet o fix a commencement date.

With the razzmatazz in Nigerian football, it will be DIFFICULT for any corporate body to SPONSOR the NPL.

Pillars are the new champions of Nigerian Premiership

Kano Pillars FC have won this year's edition of the Nigerian premier league. The 200c winners were officially confirmed as the new 'Kings' of Nigerian league.

NPL board disqualified Ocean Boys following the withdrawal of the 2006 winners. The technical committee deducted all the points that the remaining 19 teams recorded against Ocean Boys. This procedure favoured Kano Pillars because they got 3 points from Ocean Boys while Lobi Stars lost 4 points. The new table that emerged after the process made it impossible for any other team to get up to 61 points this season.

Pillars shoots to the top of NPL as Rangers suffers defeat

Kano Pillars on Wednesday evening defeated Akwa United by a lone goal to move to the summit of the Nigerian Premier League table. The 2008 league champions are now on top of the table with a total of 64 points from 37 matches while Lobi Stars are second with 63 points. Lobi Stars hammered Enugu Rangers by three goals to nil in Katsina-Ala on the same day. Enugu Rangers are now third on the table with 61 points and they must win their last league match and hope that Lobi Stars do not win while Kano Pillars lose. Enugu Rangers have not won any trophy since 1984/85 season.
Meanwhile, Jigawa Golden stars defeated Enyimba FC by 1-0 in Hadejia to further compound the woes of the former champions. Warri Wolves also ended the title aspirations of Shooting Stars of Ibadan after a 1-0 win.

Lobi Stars and Rangers in title showdown.

Lobi Stars of Markurdi will host Enugu Rangers in Wednesday's Nigerian Premier League match that wil be played in Katsina-Ala, Benue state. The year  2000 CAF Champions League campaigners will hope to prevent Rangers from winning their first crown in 28 years. The last time Rangers lifted a trophy was in 1984. Lobi Stars are currently placed third on the league table with 60 point, but they one point behind Pillars and Rangers that are tied on 61 points each. If Lobi Stars can win this match they will be two points clear of Rangers with one match to the end of the current season. In another match that will be played on the same day, Jigawa Stars will host Enyimba FC of Aba in Hadejia, Jigawa State.

Rangers shot down in Ibadan!

Nigeria Premier League leaders,Enugu Rangers were beaten 1-0 by Shooting Stars of Ibadan in the week 35 fixture at the Adamasingba stadium. Meanwhile, Kano Pillars defeated Dolphins of Port Harcourt by two goals to nil in Kano. Sunshine Stars pulled a surprise victory in Warri as they defeated Wolves by 2-1. In Port Harcourt, Sharks FC defeated Heartland by two goals to nil. Jigawa Stars pipped ABS FC by two goals to nothing. Akwa United picked all the three points at home after a 2-0 win over two time African Champions,Enyimba FC. Pillars and Rangers are now tied on 58 points at the top of the NPL table.

Weekend Extra

Apart from the big games we have previewed on our blog, there are other interesting matches across the globe this weekend. Manchester United will hope to maintain their 5 points lead over Manchester City when they host Everton at the Old Trafford Stadium. Manchester City will visit the Britannia Stadium to tackle Wolverhampton Wanderers in a bid to continue their resurgence after their two consecutive wins over West Brom and Norwich City. The Citizens have scored 10 goals in their last two matches.
In Italy, Napoli will clash against Novara in the race for a top four finish. Fiorentina VS Inter is another interesting match to look forward to this weekend. AC Milan can replace Juventus at the top of the table if they can win against Bologna, but that will only occur if AS Roma should deny the Old Ladies all three points at stake in Turin.
In France,PSG will welcome Sochaux in Paris and Montpellier will equally be at home to host Valenciennes. The race for the French Ligue 1 will definitely go down to the last day of the season.
Atletico Madrid and Espanyol will clash at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

The Nigerian Premier League will resume this weekend after a two week break that followed the end of the first half of the season. Enugu Rangers,Kano Pillars and Dolphins of Port Harcourt are all tied on 32 points each. The Scottish Premier League has already been won by Celtic FC last weekend, Rangers and Hearts will continue to fight for the second spot on the table.

In the MLS, Thierry Henry will hope to score more goals for the NY Red Bulls. The former Arsenal and Barcelona hit man has scored seven goals this season.

Dolphins VS Kano Pillars preview

Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt will host Kano Pillars in the Nigerian Premier League match that will be played at the Liberation Stadium. Dolphins have 23 points from 14 matches while Pillars have 29 points from 16 matches. The match is the star match of the week. Pillars defeated Sunshine Stars 1-0 last Thursday while Dolphins defeated Rising Stars by the same margin in an away game on the same day. Dolphins FC are currently campaigning in the CAF Champions League.
Our prediction: Dolphins 2-1 Kano Pillars
Date: 31st March,2012
Venue: Liberation Stadium
Time: 3 pm

Nigerian Premier League review.

Enugu Rangers moved to the summit of the Nigerian Premier League after a 2-1 win over Akwa United at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium. The Flying Antelopes are now on 29 points from 15 games. Shooting Stars couldn't shine at the Kaduna township stadium as they were beaten 2-0 by Kaduna United. Enyimba FC defeated Rising Stars by a lone goal to move up to 26 points. Kwara United went goals gaga as they thrashed Jigawa Stars by four goals to two in Ilorin.Gombe United also pipped Kano Pillars by one goal to nil.

Tornadoes ends Enyimba's unbeaten run.

Niger Tornadoes of Minna defeated Enyimba FC of Aba at the Mallam Bako Kotangora Stadium on Saturday evening. The Nigerian Premier League match was Enyimba's first defeat in six games. Atake Son scored the only goal of the game in the 75th minute of action. Paul Godwin was beaten by the debutant's goal after several goal attempts from Enyimba were rebuffed by the Tornadoes goal keeper. Enyimba have amassed 23 points so far this season.

Nigerian Premier League Preview.

 Week 15 matches of  the Nigerian Premier League will be played this weekend. Niger Tornadoes will be welcome two time African Champions,Enyimba FC to the Mallam Bako Kotangora Stadium in Minna on Saturday. Tornadoes are currently placed 13th on the League table with 16 points from 12 matches. Tornadoes got a vital away point against Kwara United in Abuja on Wednesday. On the other hand, Enyimba FC were forced to a one all draw at the Enyimba International stadium in Aba. The "Peoples Elephant" failed to break down the resilient defence of Lobi Stars. ABS FC will tackle Rising Stars of Akure in another League game while Sharks FC will host Kaduna United in Port Harcourt.
Last season's runners up, Sunshine Stars will battle against Enugu Rangers in Ado Ekiti. Sunshine won their last match by beating Rising Stars 3-0 at the same venue. Lobi Stars will welcome Dolphins FC at the Aper Aku Stadium in Makurdi. In Enugu, Heartland will face Shooting Stars at their adopted home ground. Ocean Boys and Wikki Tourists will clash in Warri while Akwa United will take on Gombe United.

Enugu Rangers are the current League leaders with 26 points from 13 matches.

Rangers extends unbeaten run to nine matches!

Enugu Rangers have extended their unbeaten run in the Nigerian Premier League to nine matches. This followed a 4-0 win that was recorded over Ocean Boys in a week 14 encounter that was played at the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium in Enugu. Chikeluba Ofoedu scored the first goal for the table toppers before Super Eagles player, Ejike Uzoenyi scored his second consecutive League goal towards the end of the first half. The Flying Antelopes made it 3-0 through Efe Yahere in the second half. Ogogo Odukpe put the game beyond the 2006 Champions when scored his side's fourth goal later in the second half. Rangers are now 3 points clear of second placed Enyimba FC that played a barren draw at home to Lobi Stars, while Dolphins and Heartland played a one all draw in Port Harcourt.

Preview: Dolphins tackles Heartland.

Reigning Nigerian League Champions, Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt will take on Federation Cup winners,Heartland FC in a Nigerian Premier League match that will be played today. Dolphins are four points behind Rangers who are occupying the first position on the League table, though the Champions League competitors have a game in hand. Dolphins FC have scored 12 goals in 11 matches and conceded 10 in return.   Heartland FC are languishing in the 17th position with 12 points from 11 games.

Heartland FC were beaten at home by Enyimba last weekend. A win for Heartland won't be out of place. The Owerri-based team must win this match so as to move out of the dreaded relegation zone. The match will be played at the Liberation Stadium,Port Harcourt at 4pm local time. 

NPL Preview: Tornadoes v Rangers

Niger Tornadoes of Minna will host Enugu Rangers in a Nigerian Premier League match that will be played at the Bako Kotangora stadium in Minna,Niger State. The visitors(Rangers) are currently on top of the League and they are unbeaten in their last seven matches. While the hosts have gathered eight points from their last 5 matches, Rangers have accumulated 11 points over the same period. Both teams won their last games by a lone goal. While Okey Emordi led Rangers to a lone goal victory over Lobi Stars, Tornadoes defeated Rising Stars by the same margin. The last time Rangers played an away match, they bagged all the three points at stake.

The "Flying Antelopes" defeated ABS FC of Ilorin by a lone goal. Rangers also got an away draw against Kwara United at the same venue earlier in February. The Bako Stadium in Minna is not an easy ground for any  visiting team, but newly promoted ABS FC got a draw at that venue on February 11th,2012. The Okey Emordi led team can draw some inspiration from that match as they honour their fixture this weekend.

Chat Soccer's prediction: Tornadoes 1-1 Rangers

ABS FC to host Dolphins in an empty stadium.

Abubakar Bukola Saraki FC of Ilorin will on Wednesday evening play their outstanding Nigerian Premier League match in an empty stadium. This is as a result of the crowd violence that ensued between the fans of Kwara United and Sunshine Stars of Akure at the same venue last weekend. Dolphins FC are  Nigeria's reigning League Champions and the Port Harcourt team will be very pleased with this scenario. Dolphins are through to the second round of this year's CAF Champions League after a 6-0 aggregate win over El Nguema of Equatorial Guinea. The Nigerian Premier League have witnessed 11 round of games with Enugu Rangers leading the table with 22 points. 

Sharks swallow Dolphins!

The rivalry war between Sharks FC and Dolphins of Port Harcourt ended in a 3-1 win for Sharks. The match was played at the Sharks Stadium,Port Harcourt,Nigeria. Prior to the match,Nigerian Champions-Dolphins FC had beaten El Nguema of Equatorial Guinea in Malabo last Sunday. The CAF Champions League first leg preliminary round started on a winning note for the 2005 CAF Confederations Cup finallists, but they couldn't replicate that result against their local rivals as they were "swallowed" by three goals to one. The first half ended 2-0 in favour of the home side.

Despite their loss, Dolphins are still on top of the Nigerian Premier League as the time of writing this report. In another NPL match, Niger Tornadoes defeated newly promoted Rising Stars of Akure at the Bako Stadium in Minna,Niger state.