Playing Super 8 Is Postponing Doomsday In Nigerian Leagues - Olopade

Playing Super 8 Is Postponing Doomsday In Nigerian Leagues - Olopade

By Niyi Busari

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National League, NNL, Bukola Olopade has stated unequivocally that playing the Super 8 competition that will produce four teams which will gain promotion to the NPFL is not the solution to the current challenges facing Nigeria league, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Olopade advised the League Management Company, LMC and Nigeria Professional Football League Club Owners to accept NNL proposal of promoting eight teams to join the twenty existing clubs in the elite league as the lasting solution to the current problem bedeviling Nigerian football league.

Olopade who noted that NPFL management has breached an article in LMC statute by agreeing to prosecute the 2018/19 NPFL season with twenty-four teams whereas it was clearly stated in the LMC statute that only twenty clubs should participate in the NPFL league.

To him, NPFL must also relegate four teams if they are to accommodate four NPFL in the 2018/19. He argued that NNL equally has the right to reject demotion of eight teams at the end of the season if four NNL teams were promoted to the elite league from the beginning of the season.

With this, he believed even if the Super 8 is played, they management of the leagues are merely postponing the doomsday in Nigeria football because the problem is not over yet.

In his words: "NPFL must also relegate four teams because at the end of the season eight clubs will be relegated to the NNL and at that time, NNL also has the right to reject and say they cannot accommodate eight clubs when they promoted four clubs.

"So, even if we solve this problem now by playing the Super 8, we are only postponing doomsday in Nigeria league because the problem will still face us at the end of the season.

"They said that the rule says four teams should be promoted from the NNL to the NPFL. But they have already breached an article in LMC statute which states that only twenty teams should prosecute the NPFL. Therefore, it is wrong for them not to relegate four clubs but wants four clubs to join them from the NNL to make the number of the clubs 24."

Bukola Olopade in the heat of the crisis resigned as the CEO of the NNL citing breach of the agreement between the NFF and NNL.

NFF had in Asaba agreed to promote eight NNL clubs to the elite league which has made all the eight clubs released some of their players to recruit better legs in preparation ahead of the 2018/19 NPFL season.