Negative effects of the long absence of League Football in Nigeria

The NWFL will return on December 8 while the NLO and NNL has no return dates. This has a negative effect on the image of the league and it affects the players and teams too.

Presently, there are 3 teams on the continent: Enyimba, Bayelsa United and Rivers United. Without competitive games, these teams may struggle if they get to the group stages of the tournaments.

For the players, it will be difficult to keep fit during this period. The coaches are not left out as they can hardly harmonize their plans for the new season in order to get their teams to shape.

In a space of four months, some NPFL players have left the country to go abroad for football, this is largely because of the visibility the league offers. As the January transfer window is approaching, it will be difficult for these players to move since there has been no action in the league. 

Adekunle Adeleke and John Noble were part of Gernot Rohr's team in the AFCON qualifiers but they were not invited to the team in the last four games because of the situation in the league. 

This long absence could also affect the possibility of a home based player being part of the Super Eagles team to the African Cup of Nations. 

Rivers Angels will play at the maiden CAF Women's Champions League and they will need the best preparation they can get too. 

The earlier the leagues return, the better for players, coaches and the teams in general.

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Bethel Kalu is a passionate sports writer whose love for writing began as a young boy. He has been writing sports for 7 years has over 500 articles written by him. 

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