NPFL mid-season report: High marks on stats, enforcement

Emeka Obioma of Enyimba wheels away after scoring a goal.

At the outset, the Interim Management Committee (IMC) had a mission to start the 2022/23 season of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and achieve a calendar that would have Nigeria aligning with those of Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) and Europe.

The calendar alignment was to achieve the twin purpose of having NPFL Clubs adequately prepared for CAF Club competitions and also afford the players unencumbered opportunity to join European clubs either by direct transfer or through trials.

Securing television broadcast of live matches of the NPFL was also on the bouquet of the IMC set targets which also included attracting sustainable funding through sponsorships. While the last two which are marketing objectives are long-term objectives, the cheering news is that the Committee led by Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye has under one year of inception made remarkable strides in accomplishing both.

This report, however, seeks to crunch the numbers in field performances of the clubs, the players and administrative decisions.

As stated earlier the 2022/2023 season has progressed as planned in the official fixtures with the League paused at MatchDay 9 for the mid-season break.

To provide context, the IMC elected to run an abridged league season that had the 20 clubs placed in two equal groups of A and B in an open and transparent draw event held in January. The format was adopted to achieve the synchronisation of the NPFL calendar with that of CAF and Europe. It met with some measure of resistance from clubs but reason prevailed through dialogue and negotiation to pave way for the season to start on January 8 with a star fixture in Uyo between hosts, Akwa United and then