Ex Nigeria Midfielder, Austin Okocha insists the Nigeria Premier Football League is not where it supposed be, stating that there is need to elevate the NPFL.

Okocha came under heavy scrutiny in August for saying he prefers watching the English Premier League to the NPFL

In an interview with BRL, the former Super Eagles captain said developing the domestic league is crucial for the growth of football in any country.

“At this stage in my life I think it’ll be unfair to lie to our people; for me to be covering up, if we’re talking about getting better, if we’re talking about improving , if we’re talking about meeting our expectations,” the 50 year-old former Midfielder said.

“I think it’s high time we start telling each other the truth.”

“I said that I’d prefer to watch the Premier League on television than watching our NPFL because we’re not where we are supposed to be, because it hurts to see that the efforts we all put in, that nothing has been built on it.”

“Yes, now it seems like we’ve realized that and we’ve started creating exciting tournaments and clubs are now taking the initiatives to make sure that they’re doing the right thing.

“And this is what we’re craving for and this is why I made that statement, so that we will wake up and realize that we need to start attracting people to our local league.”

In order to develop the league to desired level, Okocha called for more commitment and continuous investment.

“We need to make our stadiums conducive for people to go and watch matches and not be harassed.”

“We need to make sure that the right results are what we’re experiencing and not the home team-must-win syndrome. We want to see a good league, an attractive one,” He told BRL.