Finally, the 2020/21 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season would expectedly start on December 27, after several postponements this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Months back, the lifting of ban on contact sports across the country was received with mixed feelings by domestic league clubs following the laid down strict compliance to COVID-19 protocols by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
Even when the new season league’s kick off date was moved from December 5 to 27, it was the Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare that insisted that the league must take off as he urged the Amaju Pinnick-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to start the NPFL in earnest.
“I spoke to the NFF officials, spoke to Amaju Pinnick last week, and I told him, ‘before this year ends, our Professional League must start’; football is a content stupid,” a miffed Dare said in Lagos last week.“ We watch EPL (English Premier League), we are transported to Wembley, through the power of television, and it’s clear that there is no way our domestic league can develop without content.
“I have charged them (NFF and LMC) that there must be content in our League. We might not be able to cover or show 5 or 6 matches, the content must be there. I have received an assurance from them (LMC) that there would be content. (Nation)