Sports
NPFL, Clubs, LMC Hold Mid-Season Review Session
At the end of a midseason review session in Abuja, Monday, Chairmen and General Managers of clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) rated the half season as successful with a call on the League Management Company (LMC) to improve on some lapses that were observed in the course of the first 190 matches. On their side, the clubs pledged to be proactive in dealing with fans who are involved in violent acts at the stadium by apprehending the fans and handing them over to law enforcement agents for prosecution.
The midseason review session was convened by the LMC at its office in Abuja ahead the start of the second stanza of the 2016/17 season on Sunday, May 21.
One of the far reaching decisions adopted at the session was a proposal by clubs that fines imposed on any club for rules breaches must be paid within ten working days failure of which, all other matches of the club after the deadline would be forfeited to their opponents. The LMC accepted the proposal which now replaces the previous process that deducts the total fine from the club earnings at the end of the season.
The Club’s Chairmen led by Barrister Isaac Danladi commended the LMC on the management of the half season and the proactive decisions taken each time regulations were breached. He expressed the clubs’ resolve to ensure that such incidences that tend to mar otherwise exciting matches are reduced if not eliminated.
“The clubs are in agreement that the LMC tried very well to ensure that the first stanza of the 2016/17 season was successfully concluded and we want to commend you for all the decisions you reached on reported incidences because there was hardly any club that challenged those decisions”, Danladi stated.
Presided over by the LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko, the session amongst other issues discussed, also tasked the LMC to properly review the fixtures for the remaining half of the season to reduce fixture congestion which the clubs said affected not just their finances but also the physical conditioning of their playing squad.
Dikko in his remarks harped on the need to curb the growing fans’ restiveness at match venues and challenged the Club Administrators to lead the campaign for peaceful atmosphere at match venues. He recalled that the LMC had made it mandatory for the host club chairman and the visiting counterpart sit together in the box.
“When we mandated the club leaderships to sit together at matches, the reasoning was that when both leaders are seen in such friendly stance, tension will be reduced amongst their supporters.
“These fans read your body language and when a club chairman reacts negatively to a Referees’ decision, the wrong signal has been sent to the supporters hence I urge you to eschew display of emotions while watching matches. It is your responsibility to lead this campaign for friendly atmosphere at matches”, charged Dikko.
The LMC, he also pledged will intensify its liaison with the leadership of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA)and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Referees’ Committee towards improving the level of officiating by exploring possibilities of additional guidelines for qualification to manage NPFL matches.
Isaako All Stars FC of Opuoko and Khana Khana AllStars Football all in Local Government Area of Rivers State will tomorrow engage in a friendly football match at Opuoko Mini Stadium.
Chatting with Tidesports in a telephone interview yesterday the Chairman of Khana All Stars Saro Tap-le said that the encounter is not going to be an easy game in spite it is an AllStars game.
He express his side readiness for the encounter stating that the opportunity as come for them to showcase their talents.
However, the chairman explained that AllStars game is not about winning but the excitement, love, unity and friendship it creates is more important.
” Tomorrow game is not going to be an easy one despite is a AllStars game. We are going there in a full force to do what we know how to do best and to showcase our talents.
“As Chairman of Khana All Stars I believes we have an edge over the Isaako All Stars be we are training so hard for the encounter” Tap-le said.
Also speaking the Chairman of Isaako All Stars Mina Zaasi Iloori sees the match as an opportunity to build relationships.
” My brother it is an AllStars friendly game I think winning is not important but the paramount thing is the relationship we are going to create among both teams and my community at large
” We are training hard because of the encounter because I will not be in my house and somebody will rob soap in my eyes.
” As I speak with you we are just coming from back training ground to ensure all my players are fit for the match.
” I am using this medium to call on football fans to come en mass to Opuoko Mini Stadium tomorrow and enjoy the best of round leather game.
I promise the game will be an exciting display of football talents and sportsmanship”, Iloori said.
Kiadum Edookor
Thierry Henry has called for the return of the away goals rule in the aftermath of the bombastic Champions League semi-final between Inter Milan and Barcelona.
The visitors at the Estadio Olimpic Lluis Companys came within milimeters of clinching the first leg of the final-four clash after former Arsenal star Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted late in the second-half.
But the linesman was quick to raise his flag, and semi-automated offside ruled out what would have been a thrilling conclusion to the high-octane 3-3 draw.
The hosts came from behind twice to share the spoils, chasing Inter Milan from the first minute of the game after Marcus Thuram stunned the Barcelona faithful into silence with his neatly flicked goal.
Denzel Dumfries doubled Inter’s lead 20 minutes later, but it took just three more for the Blaugrana to finally get on the scoresheet courtesy of a moment of magic from teenage starlet Lamine Yamal.
Ferran Torres drew Barcelona level ahead of the break, but Lamal was forced to play catch-up again in the second-half after Dumfries scored his second.
In light of the impressive effort from Inter, Henry wondered if the team should have got more from the fixture ahead of the second-leg at the San Siro.
‘I know it’s been like that for a very time, and we have to accept it,’ Henry said of the removal of the away goals rule, ‘But off air I was talking to Jamie (Carragher), and I was like, “how can you score three goals away from home and you don’t have an advantage?”
‘Away goals for me were massive, you score three goals away and you still don’t have an advantage 0-0 at home,’ Henry shrugged.
UEFA took the decision to scrap the rule which gave goals scored away from home the ability to act as a tiebreaker in the case of level scorelines ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Current FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger claimed during his time as Arsenal manager in 2015 that the away goals rule ‘encouraged the team at home not to attack’ and that ‘the weight of the away goal (was) too big today’.
Without the rules, the tie at San Siro will go to extra time and penalties to decide which teams books their spot in the Champions League final.
But based on Wednesday evening’s performance, Henry seemed to give Inter a fighting chance against the newly minted Copa del Rey champions.
The 2025 London Marathon set a new world record for the number of finishers despite hot conditions on Sunday for its 45th edition.
A total of 56,640 runners crossed the finish line at the end of the 26.2-mile route, Guinness World Records has confirmed.
The number surpassed the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said he hoped the high number of finishers inspired people to apply for the 2026 race ballot.
“The London Marathon was already the most popular in terms of ballot entries, with 840,318 people applying for the 2025 race,” he said.
“It is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3bn raised for charity since 1981.”
The number of people applying for the ballot to enter this year’s race broke the world record of 578,304 for the 2024 edition.
Of UK applicants 49% were female, while there was a 105% increase in applications from people aged between 20-29.
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa surged to victory in the elite women’s race in a world record for a women’s only field, while Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe triumphed in the men’s event.