Tunde Ogunesan and Tosin Omojola review the recently concluded 2010/2011 Nigeria Premier League, highlighting the issues that characterised the longest football season ever.ON Sunday, November 13, 2011, the 2010/2011 Nigeria Premier League (NPL) season came to an end after more than one year, and without any permutation, it became the world's longest league season. The league began precisely in November 2010 with the aim of coinciding with the European football calendar but could not be completed within the same period as the European Leagues. While the English Premiership was playing its tenth match of the new 2011/12 season last weekend, Nigerian football officials and fans were busy celebrating the completion of their own league, as if they were not on the same planet.Surprisingly, a 10-year-old Nigerian who has never travelled abroad knows when the English Premier League will kick off. He knows the date it will end and knows when these clubs would be off-season. But not even the chairman of NPL can tell the whole world when the new football season will commence in Nigeria or even give a clue on what would happen next season.Competitiveness Although the season which was originally billed to run for about eight months, ended up being a marathon, yet it produced some positive results among which were the tough competition for the league shield, continental ticket as well as battle for survival from relegation.Excitedly, all these were decided on the last day of the season with Dolphins of Port Harcourt beating Sunshine Stars of Akure to the title, Warri Wolves grabbed the last continental slot at the expense of Kano Pillars, while both 3SC of Ibadan and Ocean Boys of Brass managed to survive the drop, leaving Plateau United to sink with Zamfara United, Crown FC of Ogbomoso and JUTH FC of JOS.Standard Although the standard exhibited by clubs in the just concluded season was still far from being high as expected, it could be said to be averagely okay going by statistics.League winner, Dolphins, picked five wins away fom home, dropped just a point on home soil while Sunshine Stars, despite playing on an adopted home ground, Ijebu Ode, secured all maximum points at home, winning all their 19 matches.Measures taken by the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) board at the start of the season regarding stadia facilities did help to a large extent in ensuring that matches were played on suitable turfs and not on mere sand as it used to be in the past. Clubs whose stadia failed to meet up with the required standards had to move their home games to an alternative venue and this really contributed to the improved standard.Top scorer For the first time in the history of the Nigerian league right from the amateur league to the professional league and now the premier league, a player, Jude Aneke of Kaduna United, scored 20 goals. Although, it is still contested by Sunhine Stars' Ajani Ibrahim, who also hit the same number of goals.It is worthy to note that the highest goal scored by an individual before last season was 18, a record that was set in the 2009/2010 season by Ahmed Musa then of Kano Pillars. That was after the 17 goals scored in 1991 by Ishaya Jatau of the then Iwuanyanwu Nationale was equalled by Orok Akarandut of Akwa United three seasons ago.HooliganismThis is one particular problem that had faced the Nigerian league for long, but this season, it could be said to be minimal as only a few crowd disturbances were witnessed throughout the season and the clubs involved were fined, banished to neutral venues or forced to play behind closed doors.Longest Season everIt is no more news that Nigeria has once again set another record on the wrong side by running a single season for over one year.When the league kicked off on November 6, 2010, it had already suffered postponement as fixtures released by the league board showed that the season was originally fixed to commence on October 24 and end on June 5, 2011.Due to the obvious crisis in the NPL board as well as lack of organisation, the season repeatedly suffered more shifts in date. Fixtures rearrangements became part of the administrative duties of the board.Nobody, not even the confused board knew when the season would end until it was finally rounded off penultimate Sunday after running for precisely 12 months.Too bad, the 2010/11 season of the Nigeria Premier League ended on November 13, when the 2011/2012 season in other countries including some African countries, was already on.NFF/NPL DisharmonyFrom the beginning, the disharmony between the supervisory body-the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) was a pointer to the fact that the journey was going to be rough.Both parties had for quite sometime not been the best of partners owing to one disagreement or the other and it had in a huge way affected the standard of the league.NPL leadership crisisIt will not be out of place to state that the major problem of the league in the recently concluded season was the in-house crisis that ravaged the league board.It is said that if the foundation is faulty, then any structure built on it will definitely collapse and a house divided against itself can never stand.That was exactly the case with the league organising body which last witnessed peace when former chairman, Chief Oyuki Obaseki, was in charge.The crisis in the board stemmed from the election conducted for the emergence of a new leadership following the expiration of the tenure of the Obaseki-led board.Even before going to the polls, board members had already engaged in war on the issue of eligibilty as the bone of contention, a problem the Tony Rafua-led electoral committee did nothing to solve but ended up fuelling.By the time the election was concluded, Davidson Owumi, whose contention for the chairmanship of the board sparked up controversy, was declared winner of the election and the crisis began in full.An arbitration panel, headed by Professor Ibidapo Obe, was set up by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to look into the matter after the NPL Electoral Appeal Committee threw out the case of Victor Rumson Baribote who contested the chairmanship with Owumi.It ended up being a long battle, which got to the court of law and at the end of it all, the NFF following the report of the arbitration panel which nullified Owumi's election and later forced Owumi to seek redress in the law court where he won and later lost out.At a point, both NFF and NPL for the first time, displayed their unwarranted selfish ambition by engaging in an unholy alliance, what they termed a compromised election, to appoint a head of the Nigerian Premier League in the person of Victor Rumson BariboteIn what could be described as drama in the house of football, the NFF organised and supervised yet another controversial election through which it proclaimed Baribote as NPL chairman.As the moment, there is still no end to the leadership tussle as one of the contenders for the exalted post, Akin Akinbobola, immediately rejected the NFF arangement which he termed the 'coronation' of Baribote and has since filed an appeal with the appeals commitee.However, the failure of the committee to treat the case may force Akinbobola to seek redress in the court of law and this is a pointer to the fact that the leadership crisis is far from being over.The battle between Davidson Owumi and Baribote, and the eventual emergence of a new NPL boss became the proverbial rubbing of salt on the already injured clueless league.Sponsorship BrouhahaJust as the NPL board was having a running battle over who would head it, the board was also faced with problem of league sponsorship.At a time, when Owumi was in charge, the board named MTN as the sponsor but the decision met a stiff resistance from Globacom which kicked against the system adopted by the board in awarding the sponsorship right to MTN.Once again, the NFF had to come in, overuled the decision of the NPL, ordering the board to do things the proper way by re-opening the bidding process in order to ensure that a worthy sponsor emerged for the league.Currently, the matter is in court with league followers waiting to see an end to the imbroglio.It is a big shame that while other countries' leagues are thriving through sponsorship, the reverse is the case with the Nigerian league.Ridiculously, league winner Dolphins, had no financial reward for claiming the title just as the money given to clubs at the start of every season under the leadership of Chief Obaseki when Globacom was sponsoring the league has become a thing of the past.Nigerian football enthusiasts wonder why both NFF and NPL lost their heads over who becomes the head of the NPL but never bothered that the once glamorous league never had no sponsors. When one of Africa's cable television stations, Supersport, is paying millions of dollars to broadcast English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A among other leagues in the world to soccer loving Nigerians, only Maigari and Baribote can tell Nigerians if Supersport paid a dime to televise the NPL matches or they are just 'helping them (NPL)' to popularise their product.There was once a Bournvita, Pepsi and later the telecommunication giant, Globacom sponsored league in Nigeria. Why is it that the country's football administrators can't get one now'Nobody has deemed it fit to tell whoever cares to listen why the contract with the immediate past sponsors was not renewed. Why they did not get new one and what is really happening.It was alleged that not that there were no sponsors, but both the NPL and NFF were not free to make a choice of their own. No wonder the league ended and the winners did not receive any monetary prize because they were not promised at the beginning, then what's the motivation.What exactly did NPL need to get sponsors for the league'Club Managers and Players There is still nothing to celebrate on this. Club managers are still very far from knowing how to manage players well and this has to do with their welfare.A coach once submitted that club managers were enriching their pockets while the real actors; coaches and players are suffering.This season, a number of clubs witnessed players' strike owing to the absolute reluctance of such clubs to pay them their entitlements as at when due.For the records, players of Sharks, Dolphins, Rangers, 3SC, Kano Pillars, Crown FC, Enyimba, Heartland and Kaduna United embarked on strikes on one or two ocassions to press home their demands. That was nine out of 20 clubsides, who knows if other clubs could have gone on strike too if their counterparts had benefited from the sad experiences.It was either the club financiers failed to release money on time or that those in charge of the clubs mismanaged funds available.This goes to show how inefficient club managers are in the country and that also explains Nigerian players prefer going to countrries like Libya, Sudan, Benin Republic and any other place in the world to seeek greener pasture.Poor record keepingOne problem with the NPL is the inability of its secretariat to keep records properly. Just like in the past, the shortcomings have always been repeated with the failure of the board to clarify issues urgently.While it is being widely reported that Jude Aneke of Kaduna United scored 20 goals to emerge the highest scorer, Ajani Ibrahim of Sunshine Stars is claiming that he also had 20 goals to his credit as against the 19 being credited to him.It is close to two weeks that the season ended, yet the NPL has not made any official statement on it.Without doubt, events have clearly shown that it is either NPL has no idea of record keeping or does not know what to do with its statistics.Two weeks after the protracted season was concluded, NPL has not issued any statement on the league to know the statistics that it will show to the whole world that it was keeping records of events during the league.Demise of Ocean Boys PlayerThe ugliest incident of the season was recorded on Sunday, December 11, 2010 when an Ocean Boys player, Emmanuel Ogoli, collapsed and died on the pitch during the team's week six match against Niger Tornadoes at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa.Road AccidentsA number of clubs were involved in road mishaps either on their way to honour matches or while returning. Some of the clubs included, Crown FC and Dolphins of Port Harcourt.Although it is called accident, yet it could be avoided if football owners and administrators planned well. Due to lack or non-availability of funds as at when due as well as club managers' ploy to cut cost for their selfish gains, teams were forced to travel at odd hours.Night travelling has become the system with some clubs, not minding the bad state of our roads and porous security network, all the administrators are after is their own pockets without considering the safety of the players and other officials who are the main actors.
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