Nigeria National League (NNL) chairman, George Aluo has spoken out about his strong desire to bequeath a stronger second tier league after his tenure in office.
According to the journalist- turned sports administrator, his board has already changed the narratives in just less than one year of their inauguration.
He explained that prior to when they took over, the league was regarded as ‘cash and carry’ others referred to it as ‘Inter House sports league’ but they immediately swung into action by providing a level playing ground for all teams in the division, irrespective of who owns them or where they play.
“My legacy would be to leave a stronger NNL league.
“It may interest you to know that before we came in, the league was said to be for the ‘highest bidder’.
“We had to quickly change that narrative by allowing a level playing ground for all teams.
“This was very important and we are happy we achieved that, particularly when you look at the four teams that emerged from the Super 8 tournament at Enugu, they were the very best from the division; Beyond Limits, Ikorodu City, Nasarawa United and El-Kanemi Warriors”, he noted.
The eloquent-talking Aluo, who was a special guest at the just ended Paddysco Sports Award in Lagos, also gave kudos to sports journalists for the massive support and media mileage given to the NNL in the just concluded season.
Aluo further emphasised that the league and Super 8 at Enugu were a huge success, even as the league board hopes to build on the countless successes recorded ahead of a more successful league next season.
”I must say that the just concluded league season was a huge success and let me start by saying a very big thank you to my colleagues. They’ve been wonderful.The support they’ve given us has been massive and don’t forget that football is a media event and as we tried to change the narratives, my colleagues in the media cued in and as such they deserve special recognition for their role in supporting the NNL
”I decided to single out the media because if we’re doing a good job and the media refuses to put us on the spotlight, we won’t be able to make Nigerians appreciate what we’re doing“, he said.
Speaking further, Aluo said that when the NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusua gave him the responsibility to lead the NNL, he felt it was a challenge because he knew that other journalists who have been there before him namely; Fan Ndubuoke, Mitchel Obi, Danladi Bako, Menasara Iloh and Paul Bassey performed very well and with Aisha Falodu being on the board of NFF with him, he’s condemned to succeed.
” When the NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusua first appointed me as the chairman of NNL, I saw it as a challenge because other journalists before me performed very well on the NNL. But today I can beat my chest to say that after one year, we have re- branded the league.
According to him, in their first year in charge, teams now win matches on the road; the era when teams use money to win home matches no longer existed while games are now streamed on television
“We made sure that the era where clubs couldn’t put their matches on television for people to see was stopped because at our AGM in Jos, we said that football is a media event and that clubs must stream their matches.
The NNL boss dismissed arguments in some quarters that the Super 8 should be discarded, noting that it helps determine the true champion of the league.
” At the NNL, we have four conferences and at the end of the season , the two best teams from each of the conferences come to play the Super 8 and what you did at the regular season, you come and replicate it on neutral ground”, he concluded.
