The upcoming top-flight in Nigeria club football will witness some technological advancement in officiating.
The innovation will start with the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season opener between Rangers International and El-Kanemi Warriors.
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau announced that communication aides would be provided for the Referees to improve officiating in the coming season.
“We have concluded the procurement of communication gadgets that can minimise errors, and these will be available for the new season,” Gusau announced before declaring open the AGM.
Gusau also revealed that the NFF would work with international partners to train Referees on the operations of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR)
Chairman of the NPFL, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, said the league is poised to improve on the gains of the last two seasons.
“We know that the NPFL still has rooms for improvement, and our objective this season is to build on recent successes,” remarked Elegbeleye in his opening address.
Some former Nigerian football stars were on hand to pick the draws, which will run on a full season format.
They include two former Super Eagles captains, Austin Eguavoen and Peter Rufai, as well Garba Lawal.
The new season will kickoff tentatively on 31 August 2024.