From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The management of Nasarawa United Football Club ( FC) has pledged to meet the club’s goal of securing an immediate return to the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL), following the team’s relegation to the Nigerian National League (NNL),
The Chairman of the Club, Dr Othman Ahmed, stated this at a press briefing held in Lafia on Monday.
Ahmed said the club has set a target of immediate return to the NPFL at the end of the 2023/2024 NNL season and the that target would be met.
He appreciated Governor Abdullahi Sule for his support towards sports development, especially for providing the state-of-the-art facilities at the Lafia City Stadium that enabled the hosting of the NNL opening game.
“We thank Governor Abdullahi Sule for the support so far and I can assure you he can do more with time. We also thank the Deputy Governor, Emmanuel Akabe, who also has been highly supportive of the club.
“I want to assure them that we will not disappoint them in the NNL. We started well on Saturday. We broke a jinx because in the last six previous opening matches, Nasarawa United hardly won but this season we won our opening match.
“Our target in this league this season is to get back to the premier league. We are very battle ready to achieve that target and we will not disappoint,” he said.
He thanked the club’s supporters and well wishers for their continuous faith and massive support for the club despite it’s current predicament.
On his part, Head Coach of Nasarawa United FC, Usman Adams, also assured the state government and supporters that the technical team led by himself will do all it takes to return the club to the apex league in the country.
“Even our performance against Zamfara United on Saturday wasn’t our best. Something went wrong; anxiety came in, a lot of mistakes were made as we deviated from our tactics. But we will adjust quickly to achieve our goal at the end of the season.
“With the huge support we are enjoying from the state government, the new pitch, equipments and so on, I want to assure you that the boys are highly motivated and I want you to believe that we are in the premier league already,” he said.
The Voice notes that Nasarawa United, which was formerly a part of Nigeria’s premier football league, was relegated from the league at the conclusion of the Nigerian Professional Football League Abridged 2022–2023 season for failing to finish outside of the relegation spots.
However, the team defeated Zamfara United 1-0 at Lafia City Stadium on Saturday, November 11, 2023, to kick off the 2023–2024 NNL season.
