The management of the Nationwide League One (NLO) has informed that there was no iota of truth in a report published online that it would not absorb the relegated team from the Nigeria National League (NNL).
In a swift reaction to the report, the NLO Secretariat has cleared the air on the matter in a statement released by its media department.
According to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the nation’s third-tier league Sola Ogunnowo, “The NLO as a body will never join issues with any football body in Nigeria as we are all partners in progress.
“To put the record straight, the Nigerian National League statutorily are to relegate eight (8) teams to NLO as we had promoted the same number teams to NNL.
“To back this claim, a correspondence dated 16th October 2021 was sent to the NNL Secretariat informing them of the eight (8) teams that gained promotion at the end of the season which was capped with the Super 8 that was held in Ikenne.
“But I feel NNL wanted to relegate 12 teams, so we told them that the NLO Board/Congress needed to have been informed before that can happen.
“So if they want to relegate 12 teams to the third tier-league, it means the NLO will promote 12 teams to NNL.”
The eight teams that picked a ticket to the NNL from the NLO in the 2020-21 campaign are Destiny Boys FC, Ijebu-United, Otasolo Int’l FC, Campus FC, JM Liberty FC, Udala FC, Doma United and JNR Danburan FC.