Member of the NFF Technical Committee, Dahiru Sadi says the league administration is steering the NPFL in the right direction.
The Interim Management Committee, IMC has earned praise for the performance of the NPFL, albeit in the early weeks of the 2023 season.
Sadi told FL that previously, it was “very difficult” for teams to compete on a level playing field domestically, and it had an adverse effect on the quality of representation when the team’s compete on the Continent.
He also revealed that teams are now focused on talent development and the transparency in game officiating has forced the big teams to step up their performance.
“Generally, Nigerian teams are improving now,” Sadi posits.
“The IMC is working to ensure all teams play and win fairly; you don’t rely on referees, now you have to raise the team. The big clubs that depended on referees see what is happening to them.
“With what is happening now in Nigerian football, it’s like a new sheriff is in town you have to sit up, you have to raise a team, you have to build a team.”
“There was a time when some Chairmen had the guts to tell the players that, “you are not the one that will win matches for me, I have paid the referee”. All that nonsense must stop.
“I am so happy with what is happening now, you have to build your team, develop young players. Football now is for young kids, what was happening before was they were just recycling old players from this club to this club and the team did not have time to develop,” he concluded.
