Nigeria Premier League 2015 season kicks off

THE 2014/15 Globacom Premier League season kicks off on Saturday, March 7 with a double header in the Garden City where Sharks will take on Sunshine Stars at 2pm, while Dolphins will entertain returnee Kwara United at 4pm also at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt.

The other week one matches except that of the one involving Heartland and Kano Pillars will hold

on Sunday.

As a result of the armed robbery attack on Pillars on their way to Owerri, for the much advertised season's curtain raiser at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, the League Management Company (LMC), had to suspend the games involving the reigning league champions as five of their players sustained injuries during the unfortunate attack which occurred along Abaji-Lokoja highway.

 Meanwhile, the association of the Nigeria Premier League Club Chairmen and Managers (club Owners) in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja and jointly signed by the Acting Chairman, Barrister Isaac Danladi and the acting Secretary, Alloy Chukwuemeka sympathised with the management, coaches and players of Kano Pillars over the sad incident.
 
The association specifically thanked God that no life was lost and prayed for the quick recovery of the injured players who sustained various degrees of injuries from the gun shots ‎of the hoodlums.
 
Club owners urged the LMC to urgently activate the insurance policy that covers the players in the league in order to ensure that the affected players get the maximum benefits‎.
 
It stated further that the next meeting of the club owners would discuss the general travel arrangements of clubs and seek ways of encouraging clubs partnership with airline operators for long distant trips, as part of the club owners peer review mechanism amongst clubs in the league.
 
The body called on security agencies to rise up to the challenges posed by armed bandits along our major highways and ensure that those attackers of the Kano Pillars bus are apprehended as quickly as possible

The association has also planned to dispatch a special delegation to Lokoja to visit the injured players who are on admission at the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja. 

Caption: Gambo Mohammed, one of the injured Kano Pillars players during the robbery attack.

Week one fixtures:  March 7 and 8, 2015

Heartland         vs. Kano Pillars (pp)
Wikki Tourist    vs. Shooting Stars
Giwa FC          vs. Abia Warriors
Sharks FC        vs. Sunshine Stars
Dolphins FC     vs. Kwara United
El Kanemi         vs. Nasarawa United FC
Bayelsa Utd      vs. Lobi Stars
Gabros Intl       vs. Warri Wolves
FC Taraba        vs. Rangers FC
Enyimba           vs. Akwa United FC