The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye has identified poor officiating as the major problem confronting the league.
According to the African Fact Zone rating, the NPFL is not rated in the top ten on the continent. The rating is said to be based on the Confederation of African Football five-year ranking.
The ranking was reportedly arrived at based on the performance of clubs in the continental competitions in the last five years. Note that no NPFL club has played in the final of any continental competition in the last five years.
However, the NPFL chairman believes that one of the biggest problems the league has is officiating. He stressed that the league body is making efforts to purge poor officials from the league.
While criticizing the officiating of the league games, Elegbeleye noted that there are still some good referees in the league.
“It’s heartbreaking and mind-blowing when you see some officiating, and you wonder how come?,” Elegbeleye told Sportsday.
“Some are so glaring for all to see that even a non-referee couldn’t have made such a questionable call.
“This has become a major challenge which we are working assiduously round the clock to see how we can address the problem permanently or at least reduce it to the barest minimum.
“Don’t get me wrong, there have been some excellent refereeing, but these bad eggs are what we are trying to expunge from the league.
“We are certainly not there yet but everyone can attest that the league has made some improvements and it’s better than we met it.”
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