NPFL task CSOs, supporters club chairmen to enhance stadium security

The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) have tasked the chief security officers (CSOs) and Supporters Club chairmen of the twenty football clubs to enhance match day experiences as well as improve community engagement and security. Speaking during the seminar, the NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Prince Davidson Owumi said the NPFL is hopeful the CSOs and […]

The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) have tasked the chief security officers (CSOs) and Supporters Club chairmen of the twenty football clubs to enhance match day experiences as well as improve community engagement and security.

Speaking during the seminar, the NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Prince Davidson Owumi said the NPFL is hopeful the CSOs and the supporters’ club chairmen will take the message down to their clubs and effect the measures for a smooth and rancour-free season.

“With what we have done, we are very hopeful it will have a very positive impact on the participants when they get to their respective clubs as well as set a positive trajectory for growth,” he said.

He further stated that the seminar was designed to maintain the relative peace enjoyed last season while proffering solutions to avoid overcrowding and over-ticketing.

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“Last season we didn’t have issue of violence but we had the issue of overcrowding, over ticketing. We want to improve on that trajectory to make sure that we don’t go back to the old days of people bleeding out of the stadium.

We have called the team managers and l have a seminar with them. For example, if a club has a 20,000-sitting capacity, they are not allowed to go to more than 18,500 seats by allowing the remaining seats for any other thing. They must sell tickets in a way not to attract stampedes at the stadium and sell them online, he said.

He also mandated the clubs to build active and functional websites within 30 days or face sanctions.

“We have about four teams that pretended to have websites. It is live but not active, so to us, it does not exist. We have decreed that all clubs must have their websites in 30 days or face sanctions,” he declared.