Sports
NWFL Postpones Week 5 Fixtures Over COVID-19 Test
Due to the inability of all the 14 NWFL Premier-ship clubs to meet up with the directives of the NWFL Secretariat on COVID-19 test for players and team officials, the board of the Nigeria Women Football League has ordered the postponement of Week 5 matches in order to accommodate collation and validation of the COVID-19 test being conducted by the Premiership clubs.
This was contained in a statement by the NWFL Media and made available to Tidesports yesterday.
According to the Chairperson of the NWFL, Aisha Falode, who spoke from her base in Lagos, “The NWFL does not want to take risk with any of the clubs going by the fresh wave of increased COVID-19 infections due to the new variants of the deadly disease which have left more people dead in Nigeria than before.”
We are currently verifying and validating results sent in by some of the 14 clubs, not up to half of the clubs in the league.
“We are also going to verify the authenticity of the test centres sent in by the clubs from the Federal Ministry of Health and the relevant state’s Ministry of Health, going by the reports that some clubs are going to unapproved centres to conduct the test.
“Tests from unapproved centres will be rejected after verification and the clubs involved suspended from the league,” Falode said.
The statement also stated that the postponement of the league by one week is due to the tasking process of collation and validation. Because of this, the board of the NWFL found it imperative to postpone the Week 5 matches to allow the Secretariat complete their job on the ongoing COVID-19 test on clubs concerned.
“The board has given enough time to the clubs to complete the test and send results with proof (pictures) from government approved test centres, to the Secretariat by mail and hard copies (original) on or before Friday 15th January 2021,”. The NWFL Chairperson stressed.
Falode, who is also a board member of the Nigeria Football Federation, declared that any club found wanting at the end of the exercise will be suspended from the league indefinitely. And the NWFL may have to take over the testing of all the clubs to avoid any of the clubs putting the league into disrepute.
The NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Mrs Faith Ben-Anuge, noted from Abuja, that, the postponed Week 5 matches will now be played on Wednesday January 20, 2021.
By: Nancy Briggs
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
