Hamilton Rues NPL Crisis

Paul Hamilton, a former Super Eagles Coach, on Tuesday described the crisis bedevilling the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) as devastating.

Hamilton told newsmen in Lagos that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should be mindful of the negative image the crisis could cast on the nation’s football.

The NPL 2012/2013 season that was scheduled to kick off on Dec.13 had to be postponed because of the dissolution of the body’s board on December 5 by the NPL Congress.

The development has since thrown the league into a quandary, following the dissolution that led to the postponement of the commencement of the league till February 16, 2013.

The league’s regulatory body had been caught up in a series of crises since 2010, which have led to the league being denied of a title sponsor to run its programmes eversince.

“I am not happy about the NPL crisis and I can tell you that these frequent crises are factors militating against the development of football in the country.

“The leadership of football in the country should be careful because when we send wrong signals to FIFA and the rest of the world, they make us a laughing stock,’’ he said.

The former national coach complained that the crisis was affecting the preparations for the next season, adding that players were unable to register and were not happy about the development.

He warned the authorities not to destroy the legacies of some foremost coaches because of their personal gains.

“Football authorities must not destroy the legacies that we laboured for at the expense of their own gains. They should resolve their problems amicably and not destroy grassroots football,’’ he said.

Hamilton, however, appealed to Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, to urgently wade into the crisis.

He stressed that Abudullahi had the goodwill to end the crisis and save the country the impending loss and embarrassment.

“I appeal to the Minister of Sports to use his goodwill to end the current NPL crisis so that it does not lead to a further crisis,’’ Hamilton added.