Africa Nigeria: NPFL Club Chairmen ‘Missing’!

Most of the club chairmen in the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, are said to have vanished.

This is following the suspension of activities due to coronavirus outbreak making state governments unable to release the monthly allocations to the clubs.

In fact, 18 of the 20 clubs in the NPFL solely depend on government for funding from their respective state governments.

Authorities are focused on efforts to contain the killer virus instead of football that is on hold.

Unfortunately, some clubs have not been able to pay salaries and allowances since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.

While a club like Kano Pillars where players and officials are enrolled as civil servants has no cause to complain, their counterparts like Enyimba FC, Nasarawa United, Katsina United, Lobi Stars, Sunshine Stars and a host of others who depend on monthly allocations to pay salaries are in serious troubles.

So, while some club chairmen still try to keep things moving, others have abandoned their ship completely.

An official who craved anonymity said his club chairman went ‘missing’ the very day the league was suspended.

He said “We hardly hear from our chairman. His phones are permanently switched off. After all he is used to coming around only on match days. So his action is not completely new to some of us,” he said.

However, Chigozie Nwosu, the Media Officer of Abia Warriors in a chat with Daily Trust painted a different picture as he said his chairman Pastor Emeka Inyama is very much on ground.

“Our chairman is a wonderful man who is committed to the success of the club. He is always around to ensure that everything is in order. As a seasoned sports journalist, he makes my job so easy,” he said.


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