• Enyimba, Abia Warriors, Rangers home match kickoff at 15.00.
• 3SC leaves to play in Ibadan
The Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Gbenga Elegbeleye, has said the body will change the face of the league.
For the first time, each of the 20 clubs in the NPFL got N10 million as grants, a move that Nigerians who love football are taking as a step in the right direction.
Speaking to The Guardian in Benin City, Edo State during the unveiling of the new jerseys for Bendel Insurance and Edo Queens, Elegbeleye said the IMC will put in place the right mechanisms to make the league work well.
“We are out to do something different than what we used to have in the past,” he said. “I know that it is a good job to correct some things that have been known in the league, but with the cooperation of Nigerians, we will get there.”
Meanwhile, home matches involving three NPFL clubs based in the Southeast will kick off at 3pm on Sunday, IMC said.
In a statement, yesterday, the IMC directed NPFL clubs to record the adjustment of equipment and compliance.
The IMC also announced the lifting of the ban on Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), playing with fans at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan.
3SC fans were banned from attending matches last season after repeated incidents of violence which led to attacks on match officials and club players and officials at the stadium.
A memo distributed to the club and signed by the IMC Head of Operations, Davidson Owumi, read, “Please be informed that with effect from the MatchDay 1 matches scheduled for January 14 and 15, 2023, all weekend matches held in the South East. will kickoff at 3:00 on Sunday.
“Consequently, Abia Warriors FC, Enyimba and Rangers home matches will go ahead as scheduled above.
“All clubs, officials and related stakeholders have been notified.”