Minister harps on strong domestic league for football development

Hon. Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, has claimed that the domestic league is the pivot that will give Nigerian football life.

The minister discussed the need for a strong league as a key element of the health of football in any nation during a conversation in Abuja.

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Dare underlined the necessity of implementing requirements for club licensing, governance, and player welfare as necessary for growth.

The sports minister said “We have good laws governing the league but we need to be firm on their enforcement. Look at what Samuel Eto’o is doing at Cameroon. We have these laws, we need to enforce them. If we must take bank guarantees to ensure players payment are secured, then we should do that. We know that State Governments are the owners of these clubs but there must be ways out of these”

“In my speech at the NFF AGM I in 2019, I mentioned that there is no league without a proper calendar, this is needed to gain the trust of investors, consistency is key, taking a cue from the EPL and others.  Organizations also have budget cycles and this would help them plan”, he added.

Dare said before the start of the 2021/2022 season, there would be a roundtable with all League stakeholders to find ways around issues holding down the league, through engagements and implementation of tough decisions to help the league grow.