The newly refurbished Lafia City stadium,in the capital of Nasarawa State ,North Central Nigeria has now been selected by the board of the Nigeria National League (NNL) to host the opening fixture of the 2023-2024 season.
The opening game was earlier scheduled to hold at the Uyo Township Stadium,Akwa Ibom State ,South South Nigeria but the latest development has seen a change of venue from Uyo to Lafia.
Subsequently ,the NNL leadership has fixed Saturday 11 November,2023 as the new kick off date .
Moreso,the opening duel (Star match) of the day is no longer between Dakkada FC and 1472 FC of Lagos, but now between Nasarawa United “The Solid Miners” and Zamfara United “The Masu Gari”
Nasarawa United and Zamfara United are housed in group C along side :El-Kanem Warriors,Yobe Desert Stars ,Mighty Jets,Wikki Tourists of Bauchi;last year’s Super 8 finalist EFCC FC of Abuja,NAF FC also of Abuja and ABS of Ilorin.
Nasarawa United will be playing under a new coach Usman Adams recently confirmed to be in charge after many years of serving as Assistant to the Lafia side,while Zamfara will start the quest for glory under veteran coach Alassan Muhammed.
Chief Operating Officer of the “Most Important League in Nigeria Dr.Ayo Abdulrahaman has admonished clubs to not only adhere to the tenents of fair play but also play according to the stipulated NNL rules and regulations.
” The delay in kick off was neccessited by situations beyond our control,we must warn all clubs of the need to be professional enough,keeping intact the good image of the league”
“We have zero tolerance to violence and any unsportsmanship conducts”
“Our matches will be streamed live and closely monitored as we will be sending Compliant Officers across all venues “
We expect the best and a grand opening game,we are working hard to raise the standard,he noted.
Dr.Abdulrahaman further said only the match at the Lafia City Stadium will take place on match day one and that other games of the first week will be prosecuted on Saturday 18,2023 at the approved stadiums for the season which will be communicated in due course.
Dr.Abdulrahaman hints that the NNL board has sent it’s best wishes to all the Clubs as the season begins on the 11th.
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