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The English Premier League (EPL) is only six
matches old yet it is like South Africa didn’t host the World Cup or we never
went through a 3-month season break. Early title claims by fans of Chelsea, Man
United, Man City and Arsenal painted the picture of a season already halfway
but they have been brought down to earth in a rather humbling fashion.

Controversies are already raging and fans
expectant of silverware this season are already groaning in despair because of
a few results that could make them wait yet another season before being able to
out-boast their rivals.

Some reputations are being made, like Osaze
Odemwingie, while some that had huge question marks hanging over them like
Alumnia are being consigned to the bin…already. Meanwhile, teams like
Liverpool, who began the season with some kind of optimism, have been
constantly reminded of the harsh realities before them as the likes of
Birmingham, Bolton, Sunderland, West Brom and Fulham have displayed form that
is a clear indicator of the ever-shrinking gap between the top teams,
middle-class teams, and also-rans. Expect many more twists and turns this
season.

The EPL is living up to its exciting “best league
in the world” tag. It currently has a 2.78 average goals scored per match
behind the German Bundesliga with 3.15 who are in turn behind the Dutch
Eredivise on 3.17. However, the Dutch have played more matches than both leagues.
The Spanish La Liga lag behind with only 2.38 average goals scored per match
but that is a digression.

Many young fans of the EPL don’t remember or even
know about the English league except they make the extra effort to read up on
the Internet or listen to stories told by older fans of the glory days of their
teams in a bid to claim some modicum of respectability when embarking on the
endless argument of whose team is best.

Amongst the ‘old’ big four, Liverpool fans only
know too well how painful that can be because it’s an argument they can never
win until their next league title nor can they comfortably lay claim to
historical landmarks because Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) and Manchester United are
breathing down their necks unwavering in their aim to obliterate all the Kop
Reds stood for. Liverpool’s league record of 18 titles has already been
equalled by the Red devils. In many ways, SAF has fulfilled his statement of
knocking Liverpool off their perch when he took over at Old Trafford. For
example, Liverpool won 11 titles in 17 years between 1973 and 1990 to set a
record most thought would not be equalled as long as the club was in existence.
How wrong they were as Man United equalled the record by dominating the EPL era
by also winning 11 titles in 17 years since 1992. Liverpool’s main claim to
fame remains their 5 European Cup titles, a record Man United is already
chasing down by recording their 3rd title in 2008 and losing in the final 2009.

Liverpool were once great

Just to encourage Liverpool fans in their current despondency,
there is one record Man United holds but wish they can pass on to Liverpool.

They can only do this by ensuring Anfield doesn’t get the EPL
trophy in their cabinet for another 6 years. When considering the post World
War II era, United holds the infamous record for the longest period in between
titles with 25 years (yes!) in between winning their seventh title in 1968 and
the eighth one and first EPL title in 1993. Liverpool has overtaken Arsenal’s
18 year record which they set by winning their eighth title in 1953 and the
ninth in 1971.

They also equalled the record between 1971 and 1989. The men of
Anfield are currently on 20 years (since 1989) and it is highly likely they
clock 21 at season’s end. We all should know Chelsea holds the record in this
regard with 50 years in between their first title in 1955 and the next one in
2005. How about Man City you ask? Well their last title was in 1968, 31 years
after their first title in 1937. However, when the World War II period is deducted
it becomes only 24 years but it’s been 42 years since 1968. Tottenham Hotspurs
are closest to Chelsea with a 49-year gap since their last title in 1961.

So as we look forward to who wins the title, this statistic can be
monitored. If Man United picks the EPL title, Liverpool’s record title
collection will belong to the Red Devils plus they would also be one year
nearer to equalling and overtaking Man United’s winless title streak. On the
other hand, who knows if Man City can end a 31 year wait … if you ask Chelsea
fans, they might temporarily agree with you. It’s still early days though.

After
the not so impressive performance at the World Cup, a lot of Nigerian
football fans have been clamouring to have the ‘old players’ replaced
by younger and more energetic ones.

We searched through the world of football for Nigerian players, who have the ability to help the country move forward.

This week, we will
start in England, where there are numerous footballers of mixed
parentage but who could – if convinced – play for Nigeria.

Nicky Ajose

Manchester United

Age: 17

Position – Outside right

Nicky Ajose is a
highly-regarded attacking talent from Bury, in Greater Manchester. He
can play upfront or out wide on either flank. Most importantly, he
likes to beat defenders and score, or create goals.

Ajose signed
professional forms with the Reds in summer 2009, but has been
associated with the club’s youth setup for some time. He is regarded as
a great talent and has been at the Carrington Academy of Manchester
United for six years.

“Nicky has been
with us in the Academy for a long time. He is a very exciting player
and has the ability to beat defenders with his pace or skill,”
Manchester United’s U-18 coach, Paul McGuinness said.

“He is very quick
whether he is running with or without the ball. Nicky can make things
happen in and around the goal. He’s creative and is capable of making
or scoring goals.”

Ajose has played
under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Warren Joyce in the Reserves team and
his fine early-season form in 2010/11 prompted the award of a first
team squad number; a deserved recognition of Ajose’s rapid development.

Ajose said on
manutdsoccerschools.com where he will like to be in five years: “I’ll
be 21 then, and I’d love to be breaking into the United first-team.
Ultimately that’s my aim, as well as playing for England or Nigeria.
There’s a lot of hard work to be done before I can get that far, so I
have to train hard every day and listen to everything the coaches tell
me.”

Kudus Oyenuga

Tottenham Hotspurs

Age: 17

Position – Centre forward

The centre-forward was born in Walthamstow and raised in Hackney, attending the Royal Liberty School.

He featured 13 times for Tottenham’s U-18s as an Under-16 player in 2008-09, starting 10 games and scoring five times.

Kudus also made the
step up to the Reserve side and there is a real hype forming around
him. He has speed, skill and lots of confidence.

He is supposed to
be signing full time with Tottenham in July 2011 and he again showed
his stuff in last week’s 4-2 over Chelsea U-18s, where he struck two
late goals.

Oyenuga had reacted quickly to a free-kick and dinked over the
advancing goalkeeper into the far corner for 3-2 after 81 minutes.
Three minutes later the striker capped a fine display with a solo goal,
running from halfway into the penalty area before striking low into
bottom corner.

The South Africa 2010 World Cup has come and gone leaving different memories for different people.

While the likes of
Cesc Fabregas and Andres Iniesta are relishing their first World Cup
triumph, Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni will wish he was not
part of the biggest football showpiece on the African continent as his
blooper against South Korea in the Eagles last group match seems to
still be haunting him.

The former Julius
Berger of Lagos striker is missing from a 30-man list of players
selected for Nigeria’s second Nations Cup qualifying game against
Guinea, which comes up on October 10 in Conakry, Guinea.

This is the
Eagles’ third match after the World Cup and there has been no look-in
yet for Yakubu who is one of the country’s leading scorers with over 18
goals; he is also one of the few players that have hit the 100 goal
mark in the Premiership.

However, the
situation for Yakubu now at Club level is worrisome as well. He is yet
to start any league game for the Toffees managing just two substitute
appearances so far.

The £12 million
striker has equally depreciated in value with his current employees
ready to part ways for a lesser fee of five million pounds.

For
ex-international, Garba Lawal, Yakubu’s exclusion from the latest list
of invitees into the Super Eagles team might have nothing to do with
his performance at the World Cup.

“You cannot just conclude that he is being excluded from the Eagles because of the goal he missed at the World Cup.

The manager
determines the kind of players he needs for different games. The Guinea
match is not the end of the world so he can still be considered. Once
he starts performing well for his club I think he might still be
invited,” Lawal said.

Nigeria is different

While Yakubu’s
mistake proved too costly for the country as it contributed to the
early exit of the Super Eagles, his was not the first and won’t be the
last. Roberto Baggio missed a penalty that would have won Italy the
World Cup at U.S.A. 1994 but was not given the cold shoulder by the
Italian football federation. Similarly an overconfident Asamoah Gyan
missed a penalty that would have given Ghana a historic and
unprecedented semi-final berth at the World Cup in South-Africa and yet
he has not been treated like an outcast in the Black Stars team.

Indeed, anyone who
watched Manchester City’s third week Premiership fixture against
Sunderland would have seen Carlos Tevez’s terrible miss in that game.
Manchester City went on to lose that game 1-0, but the club is not
blaming Tevez.

Sani Kaita’s red
card at the 2010 World Cup was also a sour point at the Mundial and
despite regular playing time at his new club in Ukraine. Keita is yet
to receive an invitation to play for the country.

A new order

The exclusion of
both players however has not affected Acting Super Eagles coach, Austin
Eguavoen in any way. Rather, the coach is being commended for his
departure from his predecessors’ habit of shunning home-based players
when drawing up a list of footballers to be invited to the senior
national team.

The former Eagles defender has given the home-based players equal opportunity like their foreign based counterparts.

Enyimba coach, Okey
Emordi, is pleased with the move. “I must say that Eguavoen is a brave
man for picking half of the team as local players. It is good for the
league, and I must say I am also happy that Enyimba has the most
players in that list, which shows that the national team selectors are
following the happenings in the league,” said the former African Coach
of the Year award winner.

Emordi says the
move has been a positive one for his club and was partly responsible
for Enyimba’s dominance in the Nigerian league last season.

Kano Pillars’
gaffer, Salisu Yusuf, believes that Eguavoen has taken the right step
in naming as much as 15 NPL players for the camping exercise ahead of
the trip to face Guinea in an AFCON qualifier on October 10.

“He has done a wonderful job in giving the home-based equal chance of fighting for places in the national team.

This is what the
local players need to boost their confidence rather than run them down
because we have some very good players,” Yusuf, a former Lobi Stars’
coach told SuperSport.com. On his own part, Coach of Crown Football
Club, Godfrey Esu, believes that Eguavoen is taking the bull by its
horns.

“Eguavoen has shown that he is not afraid of trying the home-based
unlike Amodu, who gave them little or no chance. I believe that
Eguavoen must have learnt from Amodu’s mistakes and that is why he has
named equal number of players for both foreign and locally-based
players in the team,” Esu said.

Patrick Ekeji, Director General of the National
Sports Commission (NSC) must be revelling in his new found power.After easing
out Habu Gumel as President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and
installing his former boss, Sani Ndanusa, he must be feeling very pleased with
himself; after all, power intoxicates.

The
former Green Eagles defender appears to be finally coming into his own. For the
moment he seems to be getting the better of his rival, Amos Adamu, who has a
contempt charge hanging over his head for his role in the Nigeria football
federation elections, which held on August 26.Since Adamu was moved from the
sports ministry following his life and death struggle with Abdulrahman Gimba,
the sports minister at the time of his removal, Ekeji has become the ‘Lord of
the Manor’ at the sports ministry. He has used every opportunity to consolidate
his hold on power at the ministry.

The
brazen manner he moved against the sit-tight Gumel, on September 16 showed just
how much he relishes his new position as a power broker in Nigeria’s sports
establishment. However, like every individual enthralled by power, he failed to
apply tact.

Many
will agree that it was needless holding that September 16 election particularly
as the Gumel camp had already agreed to hold an election on September 23. What
he did amount to naked show of power? It betrayed a lack of tact and an absence
of strategy on his part.

If
he wanted Gumel out by all means and the voting delegates to the elections are
largely members of the different sports federations under the control of the
sports ministry, couldn’t he have issued simple instructions to his ‘boys’ that
‘government’ wasn’t interested in Gumel’s return to office?

Everyone
knows that going by tradition, the officials in the sports federations cannot
by any stretch of the imagination even begin to summon the nerve to disobey
such directive. Effective as this option would have been, it was not attractive
to Ekeji because it would have robbed him of the opportunity to show that he is
now ‘in charge’.

Power and responsibility

For
someone who for years had chafed under the expansive influence of Adamu, known
as ‘Mr. Fix it’ for his numerous schemes, Ekeji was not going to pass up an
opportunity to show off his new found authority.

Unfortunately,
his new found authority has not improved the fortunes of Nigerian sports. In
the last one year we have been witnesses to a gradual but consistent decay of
sports and its facilities in the country. At the same time Nigerian teams
across the various sports have become cannon fodder for other national teams,
the sporting landscape in the country has become pockmarked by crises.

And
what has been Ekeji’s role? It is hard to tell. You even wonder at times
whether a Nigerian sport has leadership. Ibrahim Bio, the man who replaced the
phlegmatic Sani Ndanusa, who has managed to scheme into the leadership of the
NOC, and who appeared to be the right man for the job has been bogged down by
health concerns.

This
means that Ekeji, who has spent donkey years in the ministry and therefore
ought to understand the dynamics of Nigerian sports, should provide the needed
leadership. He has failed to do so preferring instead to solidify his power
base.

And
so it is that on the eve of a major international sporting event like the
Commonwealth Games, the Nigerian contingent is hopelessly unprepared.

It
is amazing that a sports ministry that can provide four crafty individuals with
N1billion to spend on a football tournament for which we returned empty-handed
cannot make funds available to other sports to prepare for Games we had known
we would be taking part in four years ago.

As
I write this, the World Basketball Championship for women is going on in the
Czech Republic and Nigeria is absent. The male version of the tournament ended
just a little over a week ago in Turkey with Nigeria also absent from the
event, which had Angola, Cote‘d Ivoire representing Africa.

Power
comes with a certain responsibility. It demands that the individual exercising
it fulfill basic obligations. In Ekeji’s case it demands that millions of
Nigerian youngsters who make to make sports a career be provided with the
opportunity to do so. It means that since sports in the country is still
tightly controlled by government and Ekeji, as the ministry’s chief planner
(the sports minister is a political appointee who will go at any time) should
put in place structures that would provide these youngsters a platform to
excel.

It
means that Ekeji should not as he was quoted to have said, insist that there
was nothing wrong for athletes who have no other means of livelihood to pay for
use of facilities at the National Stadium even when the reason for that
training is to represent Nigeria at international sporting competitions.

Nigerian forward Osaze Odemwingie was in inspirational form for West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, leading the Baggies
to a remarkable 3-2 victory over Arsenal and he believes the win will
spark a new-found belief within the squad.

The former
Lokomotiv Moscow player, who took his tally to four goals in five games
with the opener in the first Baggies league win on Gunners soil since
December 1983, insists Albion’s Carling Cup exploits spurred on Roberto
Di Matteo’s starting eleven in their famous win at the Emirates Stadium.

“I think taking
three points at the Emirates will make us believe more that in every
away game – even against the big teams – it is possible to come away
with three points,” Odemwingie told the official website of the Albions.

Odemwingie had won
a penalty, which was missed by Chris Brunt, before going on to open the
scoring for the Baggies five minutes into the second half. He later set
up Gonzalo Jara to score a totally unexpected second two minutes after
the restart.

Jerome Thomas made it three with 17 minutes to go before the home side grabbed two late goals through Samir Nasri.

Two over the big guns

It was the second
big win for the side managed by former Italian international Roberto Di
Matteo in a week and Odemwingie admitted the players who made the
starting line-up against the Gunners knew they had to perform, with the
members of the cup team that beat Manchester City 2-1 last Wednesday
staking strong claims to step into their boots.

“There is a lot of competition for places, which is why every player played with a lot of desire,” he said.

“On Wednesday we won at home against Manchester City in the cup with those players who haven’t had much game time.

“That played a big
role for today (Saturday) because we all gave our best,” added
Odemwingie, who committed the highest number of fouls – four – in
Saturday’s game.

Four on the trot

Four is also the
number of games West Brom have now gone unbeaten since their lone goal
defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. Since that August 29 loss to the Reds,
the Baggies have drawn 1-1 with Tottenham, and won three straight
games; against Birmingham (3-1), Manchester City (2-1) and Arsenal
(3-2).

Little wonder the Nigerian international insists confidence is on the rise within the Baggies’ dressing room.

“Our confidence is growing because we have played four good games in a row, which is keeping us high so far,” Odemwingie said.

“I think we chose
the right tactics today (Saturday) to press Arsenal high up the pitch
and not let Arsenal build up from the back. “In the first half we had
the better chances and we missed a penalty.

“Scoring three goals makes it a deserved win,” concluded Odemwingie.

A
sensational solo goal by Portuguese winger Nani and a Michael Owen
header salvaged a 2-2 draw for Manchester United against Bolton
Wanderers in a lively Premier League derby on Sunday.

Aston Villa moved
into fifth spot when Emile Heskey’s late header earned them a 2-1
victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gerard Houllier’s first league
match in charge of the midlands club while Stoke City won 2-1 at
Newcastle United to move out of the bottom three after trailing at
halftime.

Nani’s audacious
dribble from the halfway line cancelled out an early goal by defender
Zat Knight and, after Martin Petrov had restored Bolton’s lead, Owen
came off the bench to rescue Alex Ferguson’s side with his 200th goal
in English football.

United’s third
consecutive away draw of the season meant they missed the chance to
take full advantage of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at Manchester City on
Saturday and Arsenal’s surprising 3-2 home loss to West Bromwich Albion.

Champions Chelsea have 15 points from six games with United on 12. Arsenal and City have 11 points with Villa on 10.

United’s struggle completed an unpredictable weekend in England’s top flight and left Ferguson frustrated.

“Teams drop points
when you don’t expect it,” he told United’s website (www.manutd.com).
“That’s what the Premier League is like.

“Away from home
we’ve scored seven goals and we’ve only taken three points. But we must
take credit coming back again. Being behind twice away from home is not
easy to come back from. It shows character.”

Near neighbours

United have
dominated near neighbours Bolton in recent years, winning 10 of their
last 11 meetings, but they were rocked after six minutes when Knight
shot past Edwin van der Sar from close range.

The visitors were
level after 23 minutes when Nani took possession near the halfway line
and set off towards Bolton’s goal. After ghosting past three defenders,
the Portuguese winger angled a shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Wayne Rooney,
playing his first away game since revelations about his private life
were plastered across the tabloids, endured another quiet match and was
substituted after the break by Federico Macheda, suffering a slight
ankle knock.

The England striker
has managed just one goal for United since March and that came from the
penalty spot against West Ham United this month.

Bolton regained the
lead in the 67th minute with a sweeping move which ended with Johan
Elmander feeding former Manchester City player Petrov to fire in a shot
that deflected off Darren Fletcher and inside the post.

Elmander wasted a
glorious chance to make it 3-1 and Bolton paid the price when Nani’s
teasing free kick was glanced in by Owen for his first league goal of
the season to reach a notable career landmark.

“Scoring has always
been a part of my career, and it’s always nice to score goals, but it’s
tinged with disappointment at not getting the win,” Owen said.

Houllier, who
witnessed many of Owen’s goals while manager of Liverpool, was full of
praise for the often maligned Heskey, another player who thrived under
him at Anfield.

Heskey’s thumping
header from Ashley Young’s cross after 88 minutes gave Villa the points
after Villa had seen an early lead given to them by Stewart Downing
cancelled out by Matt Jarvis.

“Everybody loves Emile at the club,” Houllier told Villa’s website.
“He is a good team mate and what he needs is to keep believing in
himself.”

Ahead of the start
of the 2010/2011 football season, which gets underway this weekend, the
Nigerian Premier League (NPL) has announced that clubs whose fans
assault match officials will henceforth pay a fine of five million
naira.

Previously,
defaulting clubs were sanctioned one million naira by the NPL but it
obviously didn’t serve as a deterrent as fans and clubs continued to
flout the rules.

Last season
witnessed an upsurge in stadium violence, and it ranked as one of the
worst ever in the history of the league in Nigeria since it acquired
professional status in 1990.

But the NPL is keen
to minimise incidences of violence at match venues and has stated that
they have decided to amend some rules so that discipline can return to
the league.

Articles 3.7

The most notable rule amended is Articles 3.7(1), which now states that:

“Intimidation and
harassment of match officials by clubs supporter(s)/fans or club
officials before, during, or after pre-match meetings is strictly
prohibited and attracts a fine of N5 million payable before the club’s
next home match.”

Articles 3.7(2)
also states that: “Where the match officials are harassed or
intimidated, Match Commissioners are empowered to call off or
discontinue with the meetings and or the matches,” while Articles
3.7(3) states that: “Upon receipt of the Match Commissioner’s report, 3
points and 3 goals shall be deducted from the already accrued points of
the offending team, and their opponent shall be credited with 3 points
and 3 goals.”

Acting Executive
Secretary, Tunji Babalola said in Abuja that all the clubs will have
the rules which they will share to their players this week.

“We are ready for
the start of the league this week. But we are also ready to enforce the
rules so that we can turn the fortunes of the game around in the
country.

“We know that the clubs will study the amended rules and regulations so that they will not run foul of it,” he said.

Babalola, on behalf of the NPL, also called all clubs to strictly
adhere to the new rules so that Nigerians will enjoy the domestic game
in the country which kicks off this Saturday.

It
has not been the start to the season that the Red Devils would have
liked but the 3-2 win over arch-rivals, Liverpool, last Sunday has done
a lot to boost the confidence levels of the players, especially
hat-trick hero, Dimitar Berbatov. They face Bolton, also of Manchester
in Sunday’s early kick-off before embarking on the Wednesday Champions
League fixture against Valencia in Spain.

Ferguson told the
club’s official website that: “There was a lot of criticism of Dimitar
in the media last season, but there’s never been any doubt here about
the quality of the man.

“This season he’s
started off in the right fashion. His pre-season training was good, he
was very good on the pre-season tour and he’s carried that on.” But one
player who is still in the dumps is last season’s 34-goal hero, Wayne
Rooney. The England man, still suffering from a dismal showing at the
World Cup then got caught in the headlights of revelations that he had
cheated on his wife – Coleen – when she was pregnant with their son,
Kai.

United manager
understands the scrutiny that Rooney is undergoing and has lent his
young protégé the needed support. “I don’t believe he has a confidence
problem,” Ferguson told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.” “He is
realising what it means to be at the centre of media attention for
non-football-related questions,” added Ferguson.

“I don’t think the
boy can turn a corner at the moment without a camera on him. He can’t
move without the paparazzi being on him and, for a young person, that
is not what you want.

“You want to play
and enjoy your football without that attention on you, because that can
be quite exhausting. He would like to keep playing with freedom, but
the siege of the tabloids can wear out anyone.” The trip to the Reebok
Stadium will be the Red Devils’ fifth game in 16 days, and Michael
Carrick, Antonio Valencia are out injured while Owen Hargreaves has
just returned to training. Rio Ferdinand should partner Nemanja Vidic
after he successfully completed 90 minutes at Scunthorpe on Wednesday
night.

Bolton have lost
just two of their last 12 home games in all competitions and will
welcome back goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies after
having served their respective suspensions.

Bolton manager,
Owen Coyle, explained in a pre-match press conference that, “Jussi has
been a fantastic servant to the Premier League, but nevertheless I’ve
still got a very tough decision to make, because Adam Bogdan has been
fantastic over the last three games.

Gary Cahill will
serve the final game of a three-match ban following his sending off at
Arsenal, and will be unavailable for selection, whilst Andy O’Brien,
Joey O’Brien and Sean Davis are sidelined with injury.

United are expected to pick the points at a stadium they have not lost at since 2008.

Yo-yo Juve face tough away trip

The up and down
fortunes for Gigi Del Neri and his re-building efforts at the Stadio
Del Alpi continued on Thursday as they lost at home to Palermo side
that needed a victory at all costs.

Where will the team go against Cagliari, who have not been easy opponents of the Bianconieri in recent times.

In the loss to Palermo, their opponents gave the home team more of the possession, and looked to hit on the counter.

Sitting
midfielders, Felipe Melo and Claudio Marchisio will have to do more
support work for the strikers as the fact was though Juve had more of
the ball, they did not get enough into dangerous areas of the Palermo
back line.

It left Juventus
with plenty of the ball, but not enough support in the final third,
either to provide chances or to capitalise on them. Milos Krasic tried
to stretch the opponent’s defence but so many times, his moves broke
down in the final third. Del Neri may have to start either Amauri or
Vincenzo Iaquinta to support Aessandro Del Piero and Krasic.

Cagliari will not be easy opponents and have made a good start to
the season. They held an impressive Sampdoria to a scoreless draw on
Wednesday. Cagliari are also unbeaten this term and in their last home,
pummelled Roma 5-1.

Ahead of the start
of the 2010/2011 football season, which gets underway this weekend, the
Nigerian Premier League (NPL) has announced that clubs whose fans
assault match officials will henceforth pay a fine of five million
naira.

Previously,
defaulting clubs were sanctioned one million naira by the NPL but it
obviously didn’t serve as a deterrent as fans and clubs continued to
flout the rules.

Last season
witnessed an upsurge in stadium violence, and it ranked as one of the
worst ever in the history of the league in Nigeria since it acquired
professional status in 1990.

But the NPL is keen
to minimise incidences of violence at match venues and has stated that
they have decided to amend some rules so that discipline can return to
the league.

Articles 3.7

The most notable rule amended is Articles 3.7(1), which now states that:

“Intimidation and
harassment of match officials by clubs supporter(s)/fans or club
officials before, during, or after pre-match meetings is strictly
prohibited and attracts a fine of N5 million payable before the club’s
next home match.”

Articles 3.7(2)
also states that: “Where the match officials are harassed or
intimidated, Match Commissioners are empowered to call off or
discontinue with the meetings and or the matches,” while Articles
3.7(3) states that: “Upon receipt of the Match Commissioner’s report, 3
points and 3 goals shall be deducted from the already accrued points of
the offending team, and their opponent shall be credited with 3 points
and 3 goals.”

Acting Executive
Secretary, Tunji Babalola said in Abuja that all the clubs will have
the rules which they will share to their players this week.

“We are ready for
the start of the league this week. But we are also ready to enforce the
rules so that we can turn the fortunes of the game around in the
country.

“We know that the clubs will study the amended rules and regulations so that they will not run foul of it,” he said.

Babalola, on behalf of the NPL, also called all clubs to strictly
adhere to the new rules so that Nigerians will enjoy the domestic game
in the country which kicks off this Saturday.

Nigeria on Sunday bounced back into reckoning at the ongoing World Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk,

following the men’s team 3.5-0.5 demolition of Ghana in the 5th round.

The quartet of
Charles Campbell, Olanrewaju Ajibola, Olumide Ajibowo and Inimo Kigigha
made the nation proud with the win, which has put the team back in
contention for category honour at the global chess event.

Olanrewaju played
in black pieces against Francis Anquanddi in Queen’s opening with (1)
d4-d5 (2) e3-Nf6 (3) Bd3-c5 but with an innovation of the Nigerian with
c5 on move 3, it was later transposed into Maroczy bind and on move 16,
Olanrewaju was on the verge of winning a Rook for a pawn sacrifice and
brought the game to a ruthless conclusion on move 28.

Ajibowo had a
complex game with Ansha Thompson in a Ruy Lopez opening and on move 27,
the Nigerian made a Rook sacrifice which the Ghanaian could not hold on
to and conceded defeat in a highly entertaining end game of Rooks and
white Bishop.

Kigigha won on
board three against Bonsu Bempa while Campbell drew against Williams
Hrogendijk in the last game. The fifth member of the men’s team, Bunmi
Olape was rested for today’s against Malta.

Angolan comeback

In the women’s
category, Oluwatobi Olatunji caused the major upset of the day with a
massive win against Grand Master Sabure Tuduestso of Angola in one of
the round five games.

The Nigerian,
playing on top board with no international rating and making her first
appearance on the world stage, proved her better positional display in
Queen’s Gambit opening by not castling and brought the game to a
ruthless conclusion on move 28 to the amazement of chess enthusiast at
the Urgra Arena.

Another Olympiad
debutant, Funmi Akinola followed suit on board three against Sabure
Outiretse in a one-sided proceeding of Ruy Lopez to give Nigeria a 2-0
lead which they failed to hang on to after the experienced duo of
Rachael Dappa and Rosemary Amadasun allowed their respective opponent’s
easy wins over them to leave the final score at 2-2.

Amadasun, with
visible board advantage, gave the tie to Angolan teenager, Mokgacha
Keitumetse, after failing to meet the mandatory time control of 40
moves. While Dappa, with several mating options allowed Lopang Tshepiso
to escape from the trouble with a passed pawn in a long end game.

The 11 round
Swiss-event paring tournament will end on 3rd of October with Nigeria
still very much in contention for category medal ranking.

The men’s team at the last edition in Dresden, Germany secured
silver in category E, improving on their bronze medal win at the 2006
Olympiad held in Turin, Italy.