With an indefinite postponement of the 2023/24 Nigeria Premier Football League season by the Nigeria Premier League board last week, Nigerian football fans are fast losing hope about the tournament.
The NPFL looked set to start by August/September for the first time in about a decade, but the organisers have postponed the kickoff twice.
After an initial two-week shift in date from August 26, the NPFL was scheduled to kick-off Saturday September 9, but the resumption suffered another postponement due to what the league board tagged “exigencies of sponsorship”.
Unlike the first postponement, which came with a defined period, a new date is yet to be announced by the board, casting a shadow over the eventual commencement of the season.
“Hurting and disheartening was the news that there would be no NPFL game on Saturday (September 9) as the words of everyone involved was given, more so when you find out that not even three days to match-day could stop the habitual problem of postponement,” Walter Odigie, a social media influencer, said.
A US-based sports consultant Patrick Omo-Osagie blamed the habitual postponement for the lack of interest in the league.
“Premier League season started in mid August, US college football started this past weekend, NFL starts this weekend, when will NPLF start its season? This is why Jay-Jay Okocha says he will watch Premier League before NPLF.”
“Just as predicted, they have postponed it again and how can you meet up with the European calendar,” a fan @kyleomo queried on X.
