Sporting Lagos FC’s coach, Abdullahi Biffo, has stirred controversy by declaring that Rangers International of Enugu are not worthy champions of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) this season.
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Speaking against the backdrop of last Sunday’s conclusion of all matches for this season in the Nigerian top-flight league, Biffo opined that Rangers only won the contest because other teams are depleted in their array of players.
The former gaffer of Kwara United of Ilorin, Enyimba of Aba and Katsina United, added that standards have dropped in the NPFL due to the mass exodus of top players from each club.
He added that, though Sporting Lagos could not escape relegation, they are at the same level as Rangers and insisted that they should not be written off by anyone. Biffo stressed, “There’s not much difference between Sporting Lagos and any other club. Look at the gap. It’s not that wide. That Rangers won the league does not mean they are the best.
“To me, some of the other teams we played against are better than Rangers. It’s just about the team that gets it right at the beginning of the season, and they have other personnel that will get it right.
“Generally, though, our best players are not in the league, and that’s why we find it hard to do well at the continental stage.
“If you look well, though, you cannot blame the clubs. At the age of 15,16, a scouting programme is meant to see them develop, but by the time they are supposed to peak in the professional league, they are already in Europe.
“So, what we do in Nigeria is just recycling. You see a player in Shooting Stars today and he’s in Enyimba tomorrow. There’s no way we can do our best in the league unless we do something seriously about the transfers of players.
“I’m not against players moving abroad, but we have to make sure all these players do it right. It’s not only Sporting Lagos; every club is suffering the effects of the movement of players abroad in large numbers.”
Biffo then went on to stress the factors that made him conclude that The Flying Antelopes are not the best team in the NPFL, but he still went on to congratulate them for their feat.
“Rangers are the champions, but I do not see them as worthy champions. Congratulations to them, but I’ve seen them play, and the difference they have with other teams is not much.
“What we need in our league is a situation in which we get a different champion. We want to see a good champion that everybody can see their quality and when you go to the continent you are going to represent us well in Africa.
“Nevertheless, we saw one thing about Rangers, and that is how they were able to fight well from the beginning of the season until the end. I give that to them,” Biffo submitted.
