The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) denied media reports that a final decision had been arrived at to end the 2019/2020 Nigeria Professional Football League and the rest of the domestic football season.
“The Nigeria Football Federation has declared that wide consultation is still ongoing as to the format and pattern of foreclosing the 2019/2020 Football Season, including that of the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL,” the NFF tweeted.
The NFF said all parties must wait until after the discussions for a final decision on the fate of the country’s domestic football season.
“Reacting to widespread reports that a vast majority of club owners in the Nigeria Professional Football League had voted to end the season and therefore, the Points Per Game (PPG) principle would be adopted to determine Nigeria’s flagbearers in next year’s continental club competitions, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said that everyone should wait until after the ongoing consultations,” the NFF added.
On Monday, Isaac Danladi, the chairman of the club owners, announced that 17 of the 20 topflight teams had agreed to finish the season, with final rankings determined by a points-per-game principle and no relegation.
According to the determination, Plateau United and Enyimba would have qualified for the CAF Champions League while Rivers United would qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup.
Danladi added that the decision to end the season had been conveyed to the NFF for “final confirmation”.
In March, The NFF initially suspended all football activities for a month due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nigeria’s decision came after much of Africa had imposed bans on mass gatherings, including sporting activities.
As of June 22, Nigeria has reported 20,244 confirmed cases and 518 deaths, according to the Africa CDC.
