By Paul Bassey

In 2009, there was a certain report that rated the Nigeria Premier League as the best in Africa.

This raised a lot of eye brows, especially from those Nigerians whose assessment of the league can only be measured by the number of its players in the national team, the Super Eagles.

The argument that most coaches do not care to look inwards, preferring ready made stars ‘abroad’ has often failed to make impact with these ones.

I remember being approached by a colleague to try and verify the claim in the stated report on the Nigerian league in the context of African football and my answer was quite simple.

That the only avenue to test the efficacy of a continental league may well be that continental competition that brings in all contending clubs from all countries within its region.

It has been argued and severally too, that the best leagues in Europe can be gauged by the showings of their clubs at Champions League and Europa competitions and Spain, England and Italy have come out well rated.

In the year under review, I told my colleagues that it was only Nigeria that had posted three clubs in the final group stages of the two CAF club competitions. Whereas Bayelsa United was in the CAF Confederation Cup, Heartland F.C and Kano Pillars were in the CAF Champions League.

Not only did we have those two clubs in the premier club competition, they played up to the semi final, but for the “luck of the draw” that brought them together , Pillars got eliminated and Heartland went on to play the final losing narrowly by away goals rule (2-1, 0-1) to favourites and defending champions T. P. Mazembe of D.R.Congo.

This year we are back to the 2009 scenario with Nigeria posting three clubs in the 16 club Champions League and Confederations Cup final group stages.

Enyimba F,C of Aba is in the Champions League while Sunshine Stars of Akure and Kaduna United will fly our flags in the Confederation Cup.

A study of the total clubs so favoured reveal that Morocco also posted three clubs (Raja Casablanca and WAC in the Champions league while MAS is in the Confederation Cup)

Others are Tunisia and Algeria with two clubs each, while the rest including the mighty Egypt, Cameroun and Cote D’ivoire have one club each. In terms of the Nigerian Premier League, I am at loss at what to attribute this current success of a league that is struggling to survive.

I wonder how the NPL board and management have succeeded in getting the league to this level without funds. I wonder how the clubs have been motivated to go on without incentives as target.

More importantly we cannot divorce our league from the problems bedeviling our football. The enabling environment is not just there to guarantee the proper administration and development of our football, yet we can record the success aforementioned.

My argument is a simple one. If our league was well run, I can imagine the heights that we would have reached. Enyimba proved this not once but twice. Pillars took over the mantle and shocked the almighty Al Ahly of Egypt out of the competition in 2009.

This year another opportunity beckons for us to prove the efficacy of our league and leading the challenge is Enyimba of Aba, experienced and tested but perhaps lacking the financial muscle of yore to make the required difference.

After surviving a difficult qualification battle, Enyimba are in a group that has El Hilal of Sudan, Raja of Morrocco and Cotton Sports of Sudan, a group in which they are most likely to progress to the semi final stage as compared to the one that has Al Ahly of Egypt, WAC of Morrocco, MC Alger of Algeria and EST of Tunisia- Arab war, if you ask me.

In the Confederation Cup, Kaduna United may have a slight advantage on paper, playing against ASEC, Club Africain and Interlube of Angola, while Sunshine has two North African foes in MAS of Morrocco and JSK of Algeria and the winner of the match between Simba of Tanzania and Daring Club Motema Pembe of Congo ( The Tanzanians carry a slim one goal lead to Congo on June 26 )

After surviving the group stages Sunshine Stars and Kaduna United are now better placed to plot their continental strategy by not taking weather, playing surface, food and travel arrangements for granted”, taking advantage of the registration window  and sticking to the golden rule of the League format “ win all your home matches and pick valuable points at away”

Good luck Nigeria

I use this opportunity to thank you for all the mails I have received to date. Apart from those that needed urgent replies which I obliged, I will take space out to address some general issues, soon.

See you next week.