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Women's Football
Is The Nigeria Club Football System A Failing Project?
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It has been 15 years since a Nigerian club reached a CAF Champions League final match, and four years more with the CAF Confederation Cup.
Despite the success of various Nigeria Men’s national teams on the Continent, it hardly reflects even marginally at club level and the reasons aren’t far fetched.
There’s been little or no strategic relationship on the football philosophy and principles between the NFF and the football club system.
Evidence of this is prominent in the inconsistencies with the CHAN Eagles and unending debates about including NPFL players in the Super Eagles – not necessarily to compete but for optics.
The ranking of Clubs in Africa show Rivers United, Enyimba, Rangers, Plateau United and Remo Stars, as the Nigerian teams in the top 50 but none is even in the top 24.
According to CAF’s 5-year League ranking, and the most recent covers between 2018-2023, the NPFL spots at number 12; lower than Guinea, Sudan and Libya.
Meanwhile, these Leagues have seen an influx of Nigerian players – and among the best ones too – who take their talents from the NPFL for economic reasons.
Recently, while addressing the direction of his leadership of the Super Eagles, Finidi George has committed to select the League’s best players to compete for places.
“Aba definitely will be my first destination when I come to watch Enyimba play. Most likely I will see one or two that I can take with me to the Super Eagles,” he was quoted by EnyimbaFC.
What it begs is ensuring there’s consistency with a process that is cumbersome and uncoordinated, unless the NFF’s Technical Department is aligned with Clubs and the Leagues.
However, the League Management Committee should hasten towards needing to step up and address Nigeria’s now obvious lack of relevance at club level.
In recent seasons while it has being the NPFL’s best performing team in interclub competitions, Rivers United have failed to advance beyond the quarter finals – And they only won the NPFL once in that period.
Last season’s champion, Enyimba were handed a wildcard to the maiden edition of CAF’s African Football League – based off the club’s history.
They didn’t go beyond the first round and as the competition moves towards a 24-team tournament, the pre-requisite unless a handout, could leave out Nigerian clubs.
In the last decade in African club football Egypt, Morocco and South Africa have dominated and rightly so.
Their collective success leaves a trail of learnable processes that Football administrators in Nigeria could examine and localize to spark a revival of the leagues.
Until then the exodus of talents and the devaluation of Club football standard will persist and perhaps happen rapidly in the coming years.
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