NPFL sheds light on the reason behind Preseason Tournament
A major objective of the ongoing Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Preseason Tournament in Jos, Plateau State, is to provide the country’s representatives in CAF Club competitions with match conditioning for effective participation.
Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL, Davidson Owumi, told the media shortly after the fixtures draw on Tuesday that the league and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) resolved to provide the platform as a support for the individual programs of the clubs.
“Considering that our season would be commencing a few days to the CAF Club matches, the NFF and NPFL resolved that it would benefit the clubs to have their players participate in a competitive tournament to further deepen their fitness and cohesion”, Owumi explained.
League champions Rangers International and runners-up Rivers United, alongside Federation Cup winners El-Kanemi Warriors, are in Jos to participate in the tournament, which also features two wild cards from the host state, Plateau United and Mighty Jets. Katsina United had a late call-up to replace Shooting Stars.
Owumi said the fixtures have been tailored to give continental competition clubs a guaranteed four matches from the round-robin stage to the finals.
“We acknowledge the support of the NFF in securing the buy-in of the Plateau State Government to host the tournament, and it is our expectation to see the clubs and their players take advantage of the platform to fine-tune their match preparations and plans going into the competition”, declared Owumi.
Rivers United, Plateau United, El-Kanemi Warriors and Mighty Jets featured on Matchday 1 on Wednesday while El-Kanemi Warriors play Katsina United and Rangers play Rivers United on Matchday 2 on Thursday.
The finals will be decided on Sunday, August 23. All fixtures are at the New Jos Township Stadium.
