Sport loving Kwaran have continued to express their displeasures over non inclusion of the Ilorin Township Stadium among the list of the 33 Stadiums cleared for the league venue in the 2023 season.
The Nationwide League One (NLO), to hit the ground running, has listed 33 stadium league venues for the 2023 Division One season which is scheduled to kick off Wednesday, April 26.
The NLO Secretariat via its Media Channel on Thursday informed of the development to clubs.
According to the nation’s third-tier domestic league, the 33 Stadium League venues were strategically drawn each from the five geo-political zones, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In keeping with commitments made to clubs to ensure a hitch-free season, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Olushola Ogunnowo said: “The 2023 NLO campaign will begin on April 26, with interesting fixtures in the 33 Stadium League venues that have been approved.
“The NLO TV app will be very active with much content as matches will be on live streaming from 18 of the Stadium League Venues selected by the NLO.
“Interestingly, NLO matches will also be live on blend TV, OTT which is majorly for sports.
“The 18 selected Stadium League Venues for live streaming, met the conditions set by the NLO Secretariat.
“Three Stadium League Venues in Lagos, two in Ogun and one each in Osogbo, Kano, Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Sokoto, Niger and Katsina State will have matches on live streamed.
“Same as in the FCT, Imo, Anambra, Delta, Bayelsa and Edo State,” the NLO said.
Football supporters in the state are of the opinions that the exclusion of the Ilorin Township Stadium as one the venues for the league must have been in connection with the poor state of the mainbow pitch.
They said that lack of maintenance culture, poor management and inadequate supervision by the Kwara State Sport Commission have seriously affected the minimum standard required by the NLO.
The inability of the state government to put the stadium in proper shape ahead of the Kwara United’s Intercontinental and Premier League costs them to play their home matches away-from-home, this they said resulted in the early elimination of Kwara United at the CAF Intercontinental championship and poor performance at the Premier League.
They, however, called on the sports loving Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to quickly intervene in the returning the lost glory of the Ilorin Township Stadium.
Recall that this medium reported that with just few weeks to the kick-off of Confederation of African Football (CAF) Confederation Cup, fans of Kwara United Football Club are in grave danger of not watching their darling club play their home games at the Ilorin Township Stadium as the designated match venue pitch is in a terrible state.
Daily Links report that the artificial pitch at the Stadium is long overdue for a change after it was first laid by the Bukola Saraki’s Administration.
The Ilorin Township Stadium pitch has been left in a bad shape with the turf suffered from over use and lack of maintenance.
A source informed this medium that the pitch is a high-risk one after it hosted a socio-political event which made it to suffer severe damage and making it unplayable.
And according to the source, “this has sparked fears that the Confederation Cup’s home games of Kwara United could be relocated to another venue if government fails to take urgent action.”
Another source said, “If CAF inspectors do their work properly, they will not approve the stadium for the Intercontinental Competition because of the very deplorable state of the pitch.