Egbe demands state of emergency over NPFL’s crumbling infrastructure
The recent free fall of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the global rankings has sparked a fierce reaction from sports infrastructure expert Ebi Egbe. The CEO of Monimichelle
The recent free fall of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the global rankings has sparked a fierce reaction from sports infrastructure expert Ebi Egbe.
The CEO of Monimichelle Sports Facilities Construction Limited is now calling for a “state of emergency" to rescue the nation’s domestic game.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) recently ranked the NPFL 91st in the world—a significant slide that Egbe insists is a direct symptom of Nigeria’s crumbling football foundations.
Egbe, an internationally certified specialist, did not mince words regarding the league’s decline. He argued that the drop in standing is a predictable outcome of years of neglecting critical infrastructure.
“We can’t build something on nothing,” Egbe stated. “Substandard pitches remain the single biggest obstacle to football growth in Nigeria. You cannot expect to compete with leading nations while playing on surfaces that belong in the past.”
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According to Egbe, the technical gap between Nigerian clubs and their continental rivals is often bridged—or widened—by the quality of the turf. He noted that even the most talented players are neutralized by poor playing surfaces.
He asserted that high-quality pitches guarantee at least a 70 percent success rate for technically sound teams, adding that poor turf prevents teams from executing modern tactical strategies, leading to poor results in continental competitions.
Since Nigerian clubs are currently at a severe disadvantage when traveling to countries with modern, FIFA-standard facilities, the Monimichelle boss is urging government authorities and football administrators to stop viewing stadium rehabilitation as a luxury and start seeing it as a necessity.
“Quality infrastructure is the foundation for everything—player development, improved club performance, and stronger international representation,” he emphasized.
With the NPFL losing ground to better-equipped African rivals like Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa, Egbe warned that further delay could permanently damage the country's footballing status. He concluded by calling on stakeholders to invest in world-class facilities to restore the league’s credibility and give Nigerian talent a stage worthy of their skill.
