By Amaechi Agbo

The Nigeria Women’s Football League, NWFL Super 6 organisers and the Naija Ratels management are exploring amicable ways towards resolving their sponsorship differences which hampered the smooth running of the 2022 Super 6 that got underway in Benin on Monday, www.bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

Yesterday, the NWFL Super Six newcomers, Naija Ratels FC of Abuja, lost their first game ever in the 2021/2022 Super Six following their contravention of the Statutes of the Nigeria Women Football League guiding sponsorship.

In contravention of the NWFL Statutes on Sponsorship Articles 7.7 to 7.10, the Chairman of Naija Ratels FC, Mr. Edeh, instructed his team not to wear the jerseys made available to all the six teams in the NWFL Premiership Super Six after earlier agreeing in a meeting with NWFL Club Owners.

The Chief Operating Officer of the NFWL, Modupe Shabi, noted that: The NWFL Statutes on sponsorship Article 7.7 to 7.10 states that: “The title sponsorship contract shall not have the effect of preventing any club from granting any right of whatever nature pursuant to the club shirt sponsor contract irrespective of when the club enters into the same and the club shirt sponsor contract of any club shall not have the effect of preventing any right granted pursuant to any Title Sponsorship contract being operated or enjoyed in respect of any club or at the ground of any club.

“7.8: All rights contracts to be entered into by any club shall first be subject to the writing and approval of NWFL, before execution.
“7.9: Copies of all rights contracts executed by any club shall be delivered to the NWFL.

“7.10: The NWFL may issue from time to time directives to clubs setting out those rights which may and may not be granted by any club to any contract and each club shall comply to all requests with any such directive.”

The Chief Operating Officer noted that, the first action against the contravention by the management of Naija Ratels Football Club of Abuja, orchestrated by the club Chairman, Barrister Paul Edeh, was the walk over against them by their first match opponents, Nasarawa Amazons after they were given more than 30 minutes to comply with the NWFL regulations.

“A further action against the club for the deliberate contravention, especially not allowing the match to kick off for more than 30 minutes, will be decided by the Disciplinary Committee of the NWFL before the end of today.”

The Chairman of Naija Ratels, Sunday evening at the official Pre-match meetings for opening matches of the 2021/2022 NWFL Premiership Super Six, held at the Press centre of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, was reported to have said that his team will not comply with the directives of the NWFL as he had a jersey sponsorship with another outfit different from the the arrangement of the Super Six sponsors, and won’t for anything do otherwise.

He carried this threat over to the match venue at the University of Benin, Ugbowo campus.

The NWFL Chief Operating Officer expressed shock over the action of Naija Ratels FC Chairman, who refused to listen to all advises on peaceful resolution.

“There is no record of a shirt sponsorship contract for Naija Ratels Football Club with the Nigeria Women Football League Secretariat. We don’t have any official documentation of such contract. To us, nothing of such exists in our record. So, it was a huge surprise to see the Chairman of the club, Mr. Paul Edeh, openly contravened the statutes of the NWFL on Sponsorship.”

Shabi, noted that, further action for the unbecoming attitude of Naija Ratels will be decided by the board of the NWFL later today. But meanwhile, the matches of the NWFL Premiership Super Six will continue at the University of Benin, Ugbowo and Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium will continue.”

When contacted on Monday, Naija Ratels coach, Mr Bankole Olowookere told our Correspondent that he was not part of the team in Benin as he was preparing the U-17 national female team for their final 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia

But Best Choice Sports was reliably informed on Tuesday morning that the board of the NWFL and the Naija Ratels held a meeting on Monday night to find a way out of the imroglio.
It is believed that the a solution would be found to resolve the impasse as Nigerians continue to enjoy the best Super 6 so far in Nigeria’s apex female football league.