The National Association of Nigeria Footballers (NANF) has been reliably informed that NFF in conjunction with the organizers of NNL have concluded plans to cancel the NNL 2019/2020 season against all established rules of the game.
If the NFF and NNL proceed with the plan to cancel the season, the NANF will challenge that decision.
It’s the contention of NANF that there is no force majure in the NNL 2019/2020 season to warrant an outright cancellation.
The NNL 2019/2020 was put on hold vide a circular dated 9th January 2020 to the clubs at the instance of the organisers.
We attach herewith a copy of the circular to the NNL clubs for ease of reference.
The global issue that could be justified as force majure is the Covid-19 pandemic, which stopped Nigeria football sometime in mid-March 2020, when all football activities were suspended indefinitely.
If the organisers of the NNL had not put it on hold at the time they did, the season would have been on for a reasonable period of time before the Covid-19 Pandemic.
It is therefore unacceptable for the NFF and organizers of the NNL to come out with a sweeping statement of cancelation because the 2019/2020 NNL season was not put on hold or suspended on force majure.
What happens to investment and finances put in by clubs? What happens to careers of players who were promotion-bound to elite division of the NPFL?
Nigeria football cannot afford two inconclusive league seasons in three years as it was same situation in 2017/2018 season.
The honourable way out is for the season to be concluded so that clubs who deserve promotion should be promoted and those that deserve relegation should be relegated.
The NNL season 2019/2020 is not covered by force majure and the NANF will contest this to its logical conclusion.
Enough of the gross incompetence of the LMC, NNL, NNO as well as the NFF negligence of domestic football.
BY HARRISON JALLA President (NANF)
