The Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has brought forward matches for the opening weekend of the 2011-12 season as a result of the impending strike by Nigeria’s organised labour.
The league will commence on Saturday January 7 and was originally supposed to open with a clash between last season’s winners and runners up Dolphins and Sunshine Stars, followed by the remaining nine games scheduled for Sunday January 8.
However, the looming national strike announced by labour to commence on Monday January 9 has necessitated that Sunday’s matches be moved forward to Saturday in order to enable clubs travelling by road to avoid being stranded.
The NPL Board rose from a meeting on Thursday where it rejected the option to postpone the commencement of the league.
“Our plan for the season is not to have any game postponed because it will badly affect the calendar,” Rumson Baribote, chair of the NPL told The Punch.
“If we postpone, we won’t be certain of when to start the season because the problems we avoid now may still be there at a later date. That will mean our league will suffer.
“But the NPL understands the security risk as regards teams travelling during crisis situation. We’ll do our best to manage the schedule.
“If we are inconsistent with our schedules, how do we integrate our calendar with Caf or other international fixtures. Even potential sponsors could be discouraged with such attitude,” Baribote said.
All ten league games are expected to take place on Saturday.