By Amaechi Agbo

The Chairman, Bayelsa United FC, Barr. Victor Baribote has declared that the Nigeria National League, NNL has been reduced to secondary school tournament.

Mr Baribote who recently graduated from the Nigeria Law School in an exclusive interview with Best Choice Sports noted that playing the league without a title sponsor coupled with abridged format where 42 clubs were grouped into 8 has taken the glamour and hype in the league away.

He however called on the Nigeria Football Federation to save the league from further embarrassment adding that the federation should find a way to come to the aid of the NNL to find a sponsor for it or bail it out of the current discouraging situation.

“NNL is a disappointment because national league used to be the best and strongest league in the country,’ he started.

“Because for you to be in the premiership you have to play strong teams and round of games and emerge the best. But now the national league is like a school football tournament where only five teams will be grouped in four places.

“The glamour is gone because without the leagues, there will be no FAs and there will be no federation. So if the federation or FIFA is releasing money, I believe the first beneficiary of the fund should be the leagues because without the leagues there will be no national team. That is my take.

“If the league at one point or the other does not have sponsorship, it is the duty of the NFF to look at ways of helping them out. If you look at the national teams and those that have made us proud, they are the local breed. Look at Kanu Nwankwo, Austine Okocha, Finidi George, Mikel Obi, name them; they all passed through the local leagues at one point.

I am not saying that those Nigerians born abroad are not doing well but I am talking about the impact of the local league on our players, football and the country at large,” he said.