What,with the Nigerian Professional Football League? Part 1

    A lot has been said about the Nigerian football league. Impressions have been made. Some right and some wrong. In some cases you don't blame the owners of the erroneous impressions. In other cases, these erroneous cases are either not true or they are entirely based on here say.

    As a kid, my father, an ardent fan of Enugu Rangers used to tell me stories of  Sylvanus Okpala, Aloysius Atuegbu, Teslim Balogun, Christian Chukwu and a host of others. His stories first aroused my interest in Nigerian football. Growing up in the University town of Nsukka and almost always in Enugu turned me to a fan of Enugu Rangers. I started going for their games. I watched such classic games as Rangers vs 3SC, Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Stationary Stores etc. I remember when Rangers signed central defender Etim Oyobio from Kwara. It was a celebrated signing as he was a good baller and nicknamed 'the assasin'. His pairing with Joseph Enakhaire was legendary in The coal city.
After a while, the Nigerian football league lost its appeal.
  Today,a lot of things are wrong with the league. However, the quality of play is not one of them. The league still offers quality in terms of play. However, the officiating is most often than not, an eye sore. That may not change in the nearest future. A situation where the home team takes care of the welfare of officials is the single factor responsible for the poor officiating. As a referee, knowing that the home team determines your pay, it becomes a thing of morals if your officiate fairly. Because in Nigeria where corruption is the order of the day, the official will loose his wage in a situation where the home team looses the game. Not in all cases though. In most.

That brings us to the second issue; security in stadia. Security personnel deployed to game venues get there and become spectators. They abandon their primary duties and focu on the game. In some cases, you see them cheering a team.