The League Management Company (LMC) has no doubt done superbly well as the current season cruises to the end. Indeed, it has been songs of praise for the league body from all and sundry, including me, for a well organized and a more focused league.
Although very little has been heard about new sponsors coming into the league, but the LMC has created more awareness by drawing more spectators to the stadia across the country.
Home wins have been hard to come by this season because of strong competition in the league. Many clubs like Pillars FC of Kano, renowned for its long unbeaten home run, surrendered the status to Nasarawa United; a great indicator of the competitiveness of the league.
What about the major actors in the league?
I am referring to footballers who laboured to feature for their teams, work hard in training as in matches, while travelling for long hours to and from match venues twice almost twice weekly. They have been at the short end of the stick for no offence other than trying to make a living.
The players have cried in silence, sometimes helped by journalists to appeal to the clubs’ administrators to pay their wages. But for the most part, it has been a story of pain oand anguish for the players who ironically are still expected to give their best on the pitches.
No less has this situation imposed heavy psychological setback on the players.
Teams like Taraba FC, Enyimba FC, Dolphins FC and Warri Wolves have shortchanged their players for no apparent, sometimes defying orders of the league management company to pay the players their wages or risk points’ deduction and heavy fines.
If I may ask, how many of the defaulting clubs have professional psychologists in their ranks? When was the last time that clubs held in-house training for their players on how to manage their emotional and other external challenges, as well as how the challenges would not affect their on-field performances? How have the injured players been handled to ensure that lack of activity do not send them into depression?
As expected there should be a footballers’ welfare association in Nigeria. Curiously, it still does not exist in any form.
This current league will be over in a matter of weeks and it is hoped that the LMC would come down heavily on the erring clubs to give the players all their dues.
After all, footballers are human beings and not puppets.
Ogunleye-Bello is an Abuja-based international award-winning journalist, speaker, change agent, sports for development enthusiast, advocacy