BY KUNLE SOLAJA

The rating of the Nigerian League with the rest of the world, especially on the African continent, will always be a contentious issue.

It is an argument that can never be effectively settled. But one fact is certain: a league’s product defines its quality.

In that wise, the Nigerian league can be evaluated by the results obtained by the league’s champions in Africa’s inter-club competitions as well as the quota it contributes to the national team and continental competitions.

Also, the grip it has on the populace is another factor to evaluate the efficacy of the league in Nigeria.

In terms of popularity, the league, undoubtedly, has waned in importance.

Paradoxically, before the advent of professional football in 1990, the stadiums were often overfilled, especially in crackers involving clubs like the IICC Shooting Stars, Enugu Rangers, Super Stores, Bendel Insurance, among others.

Now, the league venues are becoming emptier with every passing season, while the English Premiership and other leagues of Europe continue their stranglehold on the Nigerian populace.

That way, the English Premiership, for instance, continues to wax stronger with ever-increasing television viewing figures around the globe and also massive foreign investors are falling over themselves to get a piece of the action.

    In Europe, the leagues, clubs and players can be choosy in sponsorship and endorsements. Not so with the Nigerian league and the clubs, as well as the players whose lifelines depend almost solely on government subsidies.

 For the three decades of the introduction of the professional league to Nigeria, the bulk of national team players were drawn from leagues in Europe.

The trend appears will persist for years to come. Even when an African nations’ football championship was introduced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), for players domiciled in the respective African countries, Nigeria’s home-based players could not qualify for the first two editions held in Côte d’Ivoire in 2009 and Sudan in 2011.

The Nigerian side was knocked out in 2009 by Ghana and for the 2011 edition by even a lesser football power, Niger Republic, in the first round of the qualifying series.

This year marks 23 years since a Nigerian club first won the CAF Champions League when Enyimba triumphed in 2003 and again in the following year.

Ever since, Nigerian clubs have tumbled. Even the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup has been elusive to Nigerian clubs since the competition began in 2004.

In the first 20 years of a professional league in Nigeria, the country’s clubs only won the continent’s premier inter-club competition, the CAF Champions League, twice.

In comparison, within the same period, Egyptian clubs won the Champions League nine times.

Overall, in 59 editions of the African premier club’s competition from 1965 to 2024, Egyptian clubs won 18 times, followed by clubs from Morocco and Congo DR with six victories each. The Nigerian league produced African champions only twice in 59 years.

   In the next level of African clubs’ competition, the African Winners Cup, which ran from 1975 to 2003, Nigeria won three times in 29 editions of the competition.

Products of the Egyptian league, on the other hand, won eight times. Tunisian clubs had four victories.

In 12 editions of the 12 CAF Cup competition, Tunisian clubs led the pack, winning four times and followed by Algeria with three victories. Nigerian clubs won twice.

The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation recognised by FIFA.

It chronicles the history and records of football. Over the years, its ranking of African leagues has persistently put the Egyptian league top in Africa.

The Tunisian league often followed, while Nigeria ranked third. The statistics also reflected the results obtained in the CAF Champions League, which the North Africans dominate.

  In terms of contribution to the national team, the Egyptian league again soars above that of Nigeria. For instance, while Egypt’s 23-man squad to the 2010 African Nations Cup had 19 home boys, Nigeria’s entire squad was drawn from abroad.

There were six other players from the Egyptian league in other squads, making a total of 25 players from that league.

In contrast, Nigeria’s league only contributed two out of the 368 players of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.

They were Chitou Rachad, a goalkeeper of Wikki Tourists and Akinsola Boussari of Enugu Rangers, who was to play for Togo before the country’s eventual withdrawal.

The leagues of other African countries also contributed significantly to the Africa Cup of Nations.

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It was a momentous occasion for Remo Stars as they earned their first-ever national title on Sunday. It was the first time the club had won a national trophy. It was also the first time the Nigerian title was presented in a little town.

It is historical for Ikenne, which is fast becoming the epicentre of football activities in Nigeria.

Some of the national teams have found a haven in the town, and even the Super 6 league of the women’s league is currently being held in the little town.

The town hosted its first NPFL match on 26 December 2021 when Remo Stars beat Heartland 3-0. It followed up hosting a continental for the first time on 18 September 2022.

On July 17, 2022, Remo Stars earned their very first continental ticket when they beat Niger Tornadoes 3-0 in Ikenne.

Coincidentally, it was also a defeat of Niger Tornadoes this year that has earned the club its first league title and another shot at continental appearance.

The town played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s U17 ladies team picking a ticket for another World Cup appearance. The team’s home matches were played in Ikenne just at the town also hosted the CHAN Eagles training session ahead of eventual qualification for the continental appearance.

In receiving the NPFL trophy on Sunday, it was in the form of an exchange of baton. Abubakar Lawal, the Managing Director of GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited, which fuelled the league, picked the trophy from the podium where it had been placed by former international, Samson Ozogula.

He passed it to the chairman of the NPFL, Gbenga Elegbeleye, who, in turn, handed it over to the President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau.

With trophy going in ascending order, it was passed on to the Chairman of the National Sports Commission who handed it over to the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

The trophy was later presented by the governor to Nduka Junior, the captain of Remo Stars. Expectedly, the atmosphere became electrified with confetti flying over the podium and followed by fireworks, which lit the skies.

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In a classy manner, Remo Stars proved worthy champions as they beat visiting Ikorodu United 4-1 on the day they were crowned as Nigeria’s champions.

An anticipated lackadaisical approach to the game soon vanished as the Ikenne side fired full cylinders that ensured that their coronation day as Nigerian champions was not marred by either a defeat or a draw.

They came from behind to beat the visiting side 4-1. Coincidentally, the match also decided the third place of the league table as the loss by Ikorodu City ended their dream of grabbing a continental ticket by placing third on the log.

That position has now been grabbed by Abia Warriors who came from a goal down to beat Ek Kanemi 2-1 to obtain an unassailable 61 points by the remaining teams outside Remo Stars and Rivers United.

Coincidentally, both Ikorodu City and Abia Warriors jostling for the third position will meet on the final league day of the season in Lagos.

A win by Ikorodu City will leave the club a point behind that Abia Warriors. But Ikorodu City still have a window open as they can still obtain a slot in the CAF Confederation Cup via the President Federation Cup, which has entered the semi-final stage.

In Sunday’s match, Ikorodu  City thought they had a dream start when Tosin Oyedokun fired them ahead in the 16th minute.

Had the scoreline remained like that, Ikorodu would have still had hopes if they could upstage Abia Warriors on the league’s final day.

But Remo Stars responded positively as they did against Abia Warriors on the same ground when they came from two goals down to snatch a win.

Sikiru Alimi smashed in the equaliser, and Shuaibu Ibrahim shot the Stars ahead in the 41st minute. In the second half, Remo Stars came out even more purposely. Babatunde Bello scored the third goal barely three minutes after the break, and Olamilekan Adedayo put the final nail in the coffin in the 68th minute.

The league champions now have 10 points clear of the current runners-up, Rivers United, who got a further setback as they lost 3-1 to Kwara United in Ilorin.

Abia Warriors, currently third on the log, can still get an upgrade into the CAF Champions League if they beat Ikorodu City on the final day and Rivers United lose to Nasarawa United or even draw on 25th May, the last Match Day.

Elsewhere, Nasarawa United continued their climb up the league standings after a 3-2 home win over Enyimba. They are now ninth on the log, thanks to NPFL leading scorer Anas Yusuf took his tally for the season to 18 after he scored one of the goals.

They are now safe from the relegation zone. Shooting Stars’ pitiable record in the second stanza of the league is unabated as they crashed 3-1 to Kano Pillars.

They were initial continental ticket contenders when the first half of the season ended last December.

Kano Pillars beat Shooting Stars 3-1 at home with Ahmed Musa grabbing a brace.

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