Heated argument has ensued between the coaches of Enyimnba of Aba and Plateau United of Jos over the possibility of the current Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season being cancelled by League Management Company (LMC), on account of the ongoing suspension to the campaign caused by coronavirus, megasportsarena.com reports.
With the season now looking likely to be delayed further into May, NPFL observers have suggested that a repeat should be given to what happened in 2018, when Lobi Stars of Makurdi were declared champions, after the campaign had to be truncated in order to meet up with the calendar of Confederation of African Football (CAF).
With Belgium already setting an example of how the season could be cut short because of coronavirus, and they went on to declare Club Brugge as champions, despite still having a single match left in the campaign, talk has now spread about the possibility of the NPFL following suit, which would mean Plateau United becoming winners of the title, as they currently top the log.
However, Enyimba’s coach, Fatai Osho (aka Sugar) has spoke out against that possibility, as his side have five matches in hand, and he believes they would easily catch up with Plateau United should the season go ahead, even as the Tin City side’s gaffer, Abdul Maikaba insists the 2017 champions cannot be caught any longer, as they will aim to garner even more points all the way.
He pointed out that his side have been consistent and the most outstanding team this season, which has seen them open a four-point gap over the chasing pack, with 49 points from 25 games before the race was halted by COVID-19.
The Jos-based club has not only been solid at home but also been brilliant in away matches, having picked 12 points on the road, and Maikaba, who joined the side from Akwa United of Uyo in 2018, believes they deserve to be awarded the title because they are the best thus far.
Although Enyimba have five outstanding matches, they are currently 13 points behind Plateau United, with 13 weeks left to go in the normal schedule, the 55-year-old Maikaba maintained that all other clubs must take it in good fate if the LMC decide to hand his team the trophy.
Maikaba told Sports Extra: “I think it would be fair to hand us the NPFL title. I believe we will finish and remain consistent because from the beginning of the season, we have been able to keep the distance between us and the second-place team to at least two points.
“At the moment, we have been able to extend the gap to four points, which I believe shows a clear sign of improvement moving towards the end of the competition. Out of the 25 match-days we have been on top of the log for 21 match-days.
“So, I think we really deserve to be given the trophy as the winner of the league peradventure things continue like this. Though, we don’t pray for that because we want the league to finish so that we can make sure that we satisfy ourselves as the real champions of the season.”
However, Osho stated in a counter-argument that ending the current NPFL season abruptly and declaring Plateau United as champions due to the coronavirus outbreak will be unfair, especially as his side still have the prospects of catching up and overtaking with five outstanding matches.
In contrast with Maikaba’s view that Plateau United cannot be caught in the NPFL log, Osho said his side should not be punished for missing their normal schedule of matches in the season, as it happened when they were on continental assignment for the country, which he said should now be the major reason why LMC should allow them the opportunity of defending their league title.
Osho told Brila FM: “If the league is ended right now, it means teams that crash out from the group stages of the Confederation cup will be ahead of us which is very unfair. No winner should be declared, and the season should not be canceled.
“We were busy representing the country on the continent; we could not execute most of our domestic league matches due to those engagements. It would be a big shame and it will be that you are punishing the team for doing well and putting up an impressive performance at the continental level for the country.”
