The country’s first division has been on suspension since the coronavirus pandemic caused a premature end to the 2019/2020 season, but there’s light finally at the end of the tunnel
The League Management Company has confirmed that the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League season will kick off on December 27.
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was suspended in March following the spread of the coronavirus to the West African country.
Plateau United led the table at the time with 49 points from 25 games while Rivers United were second with 45 points.
Lobi Stars sat in the third position with 43 points while Nasarawa United, Jigawa Golden Stars, Kwara United, and Adamawa United occupied the last four spots on the table.
After the LMC adopted the points-per-game (PPG) method to end the league, Plateau United were crowned the NPFL champions.
Nine months after that unorthodox conclusion to the league campaign, the new season will now begin on the last weekend of the year.
This was revealed following consultations between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the participating football clubs of the NPFL and Redstrike Media Group UK, the NPFL commercial rights holders and strategic commercial partners of the LMC.
The need to ensure full compliance with the mandatory COVID-19 Protocols and enforce compliance with the clubs licensing regulations, among other regulatory requirements, were given as reasons that led to the delay in commencing the league, as per the npfl.ng.
LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko also confirmed that arrangements are in place to ensure that domestic league matches are shown across different platforms, including OTT, Mobile, Free to Air, and Cable TV.