Former minister of sports, Chief Sunday Dare has commended what he rated as a very competitive impact among clubs at the recent Super-4 contest of the second-tier Nigerian National League (NNL).
Sports247 reports that this year’s NNL Super-4 came to a close on Friday at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State, where Sporting Lagos FC managed to edge local rivals, Inter Lagos on goals difference after losing the last match to them and they both finished level on six points.
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Also on the last day of the week-long competition, Ranchers Bees of Kaduna ensured they did not leave the ancient community empty-handed, as they defeated Doma Stars of Gombe United 3-1 to rise into third position, also on goals difference – as they both finished on three points apiece.
In reaction to the dramatic twist and turns that occurred during the competition’s fixtures on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Dare said it was a reflection of the rising trend of realistic competition taking place in Nigeria’s domestic football sector.
Dare, who is now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s senior adviser on media and public communication, averred, “The Prenier League and NNL are the benchmarks of Nigeria’s domestic football impact.
“When I was minister, I knew there was a need to bring back a sense of competition in our league. We wanted to remove the stigma that a team travelling from Remo to Maiduguri must surely lose.
“We wanted to ensure that the result is not already written before they even get to Maiduguri. Every team has to compete for their results and points.”
However, while commending the new lease of life running through the NNL and top-flight Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL), Dare added the need for more discipline among referees and coaches, in order to remove any remaining smears on the sector.
“We still need to instil discipline and integrity to stop corruption among Nigerian referees. We were happy to see a new board leading the NNL, and we know those who are managing the NPFL.
“We knew that the NFF had to sit up, otherwise, football was going to die in this country. Stadiums were always virtually empty and we had a track of corruption among our coaches.
“To make our league truly competitive, we need to put in place many requirements. Even in Ghana, it’s not so smooth; but they have in place a structure to make their league competitive.
“They have the requirements that make it a real competition. We saw a real competition at the last Cup of Nations. It was fierce, very fierce. That’s the spirit of football.
“We must all know that football without real competition is dead,” stressed Dare, who was a special guest of honour during the opening ceremony of this year’s NNL Super-4 in Ikenne.
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