The Nigerian Football Federation NFF has been urged as a matter of urgency to deploy the use of VAR in Nigeria’s premier leagues.
The call was made following some happenings in the ongoing premier league matches.
Reacting to the recent match involving Katsina United and Abia Warriors, the former Chairman of Media and Publicly of Galadima Soccer Competition, Ado Salisu, said the center referee awarded a goal to the visitors and later disallowed it after consultation with other match officials in Katsina.
“It’s time to sanitize our league and compete with the rest of the world in running football activities.
Where NFF did not get it right is the live streaming of our league. From what is happening in our league today it’s not good for the game, we’re just showing our lapses to the world, the fans, referees, players, and all stakeholders’ attitude is not what the world wants to see.”
“NFF should have deployed the VAR in the first instance to help sensitize the system and prepare our minds for the task ahead, then from there we can proceed and proudly broadcast our matches live,” he explained.
The former National Vice President Northwest added “This was what happened in Kano during the Pre-Season competition of Dr Ibrahim Galadima (former NFA chairman and currently patron Nigeria Olympic Committee) football competition, the organizers first deployed the use of VAR and live streaming in the subsequent editions and the competition is the most successful transparent football competition in the history of football competition in Kano.
“Most recent events in Katsina United vs Abia Warriors demonstrate what is being transmitted live via streaming in the Nigerian premier league. All hands must be on deck to ensure that our football activities are on the right track for posterity and progress,” he said
While commending the leadership of NFF led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau for his commitment to ensuring the growth of football games across the country, he urged him to redouble efforts in this direction.
Salisu said organizing seminars or workshops for referees on VAR will go a long way in improving the quality and standard of the Nigerian Football Leagues.
