The Nigeria Premier Football League may need to rethink its 20-team, 38-game structure as clubs continue to battle high travel costs and safety concerns.
Long road journeys remain a major burden for NPFL teams, with poor roads, accidents and security threats adding to the challenges of playing away fixtures across the country.
The News Chronicle reports that some stakeholders are pushing for a conference system that would divide the 20 clubs into two groups and reduce the number of long-distance trips during the regular season.
The proposed league will see clubs play mostly within their zones before the best teams from each zone face off in the championship playoff.
Proponents of the league argue that the system will cut down on costs since players will not have to travel long distances to face their opponents.
They also argue that players will have more time to recover from one game to the next.
For instance, Enyimba reportedly spends about N20 million on a single away game in Kano due to the cost of airplanes, hotels, and other incidentals.
On the other hand, critics of the league feel that it will dilute competition and make the NPFL less attractive as a competition.
GTI, the league’s strategic and financial partner, has said that the NPFL should continue to have 20 teams, as the number of clubs fosters national unity.
The debate, therefore, continues as to which system is ideal for the NPFL in terms of cost, safety, and competition.
