What is Wrong With the New Professional Football League Part 2 In my part 1 on this topic, I highlighted the problem of the league as having or creating to many rules. Rules are made in sports for the fair playing of the game (rules of the sport or competition). What the LMC is creating , supposedly, a new track for Nigerian Professional Football with many new rules. Let me now take a look at some of the rules and why they are absolutely unnecessary. Financial Guarantor: How does a bank guarantee of N100 Million change the way a club does business. Can the LMC force a bank to pay club debts if a club defaults. Clubs have been doing football business in Nigeria for decades and did not need a bank guarantee to operate. The reason that it is a condition, say the EPL, is that the EPL as an entity makes and gives out enough money to the clubs, and the clubs are required to stay in business for the proper functioning of the league. When the LMC becomes a creation of the club owners (public or private), then the LMC can institute such. Minimum Pay: This always sounds good to those outside the business, be it at Walmart or Giwa United of Jos. For the LMC to insist that the minimum wage to be paid to any player in the league is N150K means that nobody at the LMC ran the numbers. N150K for 30 players a month is N4.5 Million, you pay that for 8 months you are talking big money now N36 Million. The LMC has said that each team will receive N15 Million this season, this is not even half of the proposed forced wage bill. The NBA has a guaranteed minimum salary for players in the league, but this is because the NBA and its players have a contract where the players are entitled to a percentage of all basketball revenues by the league. If you guarantee salary, you must be able to fund it. Simple. Fixtures: the worst decision I ever made Pete Rozell (NFL Commissioner in 1963). That decision was to play the NFL games two days after the assassination of President Kennedy (JFK). Insisting that teams must go play their games in Bornu against El Kanemi Warriors will become the worst decision the LMC will ever make. From comments to my first article, my sense is that we Nigerians are willing to give a chance to the LMC. And I think that is a good thing, but the reverse is what needs to be done. The clubs should set up the LMC and hire their own CEO and all decisions put forward by the CEO will be ratified by a 2/3 majority. See how quickly things will turn around.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:23:50 +0000