President of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Amaju Pinnick, has emphasized that stadia in the country where any act of hooliganism is unleashed will face severe sanctions while guilty teams will not be allowed to go free.
The NFF boss spoke as the second half of Globacom sponsored Nigeria Professional Football League resumed on Sunday. As he put it: “We have made it very clear, through our channels and through the LMC channels, that there will be zero tolerance for hooliganism in our stadia. The first stanza has been commended by all stakeholders from far and near, and it is contingent upon us all to consolidate on gains in the areas of credible officiating, people -friendly stadia and flawless administration of games. The NFF will continue to work assiduously with the League Management Company to ensure that we continue to improve on all aspects of the League. The League is the foundation of the Nigeria game and we will be deceiving ourselves if we think it does not matter.”
Pinnick urged clubs involved in the Glo NPFL League (as well as the other leagues) to set much store by the maintenance of people –friendly arenas. Also, he emphasized that monitoring of match officials will be even more thorough in the second round.
In his words: “The first half has gone well, and we are all happy. But we cannot afford to rest on our oars. Everyone is saying good things about the League but we must realize that it is always easier to get up than to stay up. All hands must be on deck to ensure that rather than have a decline in any area, we continuously improve on every area and by so doing, bring even more football fans to the various stadia.”