Random reflections on the Nigeria Premier League match between Rivers United and Lobi Stars at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on Sunday, January 15, 2023.

I must admit that I have never really witnessed a live football game in Nigeria since the early 1980s, and that experience left me with nightmares.

The event took place during a league game between Spartans of Owerri and Rangers International of Enugu, a team that later changed its name to Iwuanyanwu National and then Heartland of Owerri.

The game was played at the former Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri, Imo State. I departed Port Harcourt early with a companion, making it to Owerri in time for the game.

We arrived at the stadium by 1:00 p.m. and took a seat in the well-liked stand because that is what my budget would allow at the time.

By 3:00 p.m., the stadium was completely full, and additional spectators were still attempting to enter the main stage of the stadium through the Stadium gate.

By 4.30pm when the match kicked off it was obvious that serious disaster was lurking around the corner as crowd in the Stadium had overstretched the capacity of the Stadium.

30 minutes after kick off tragedy struck as the Popular Side of the Stadium collapsed leaving many supporters of both teams seriously injured, and my friend, and l narrowly escaped the unpleasant incident.

We barely managed to watch the rest of the match which ended 1-1 in favour of both teams.

After that incident l vowed not to watch any live match in Nigeria, but behold, I broke that vow on Sunday during the Nigeria Premier League encounter between Rivers United Football Club of Port Harcourt and Lobi Stars Football Club of Makurdi, which held at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium on Sunday, January 15, 2023.

This time I attended not as a supporter but as a Sports Journalist for Footballrover. How to modernize and reposition Nigeria’s domestic league to meet international standards is one of the current concerns in Nigerian sport today.

Administration, Organization, Security, and Transportation should all be prioritized in order to accomplish this. There is still a lot to be done in the administration.

The only indication that such a high-profile event would be taking place at the Stadium when we arrived early enough (2.30pm) was the presence of a few security personnel and a few pockets of team supporters.

The area around the stadium resembled  abandoned construction sites more than playing fields.

The Stadium’s onsite Sports Administration and Medical facilities (buildings) were shut and completely locked up. One expected the facilities to available on match day in readiness for any emergency.

Recall the time during the game when Rivers United’s goalkeeper was hurt while making a last-ditch effort to prevent a goal from going into his net, the medical staff who arrived the scene of the incident to revive him appeared unprepared for the job at hand.

Stunning save here by Seidu Mutawakilu of @RiversUnitedFC

Its first half and the Port Harcourt Boys are leading … A slim one tho

Rivers United 1-0 Lobi Stars #NPFL23 || #RIVLOB pic.twitter.com/NLqrWDMsMb

— 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙨 (@Footballrover) January 15, 2023

The way the teams are generally packaged does not reflect well on a top Professional League. The two teams’ football jerseys were not only of poor quality, but also extremely insulting to the sponsors and club side owners.

In their separate shirts, Lobi Stars of Makurdi appeared to be glorified schoolchildren. The football field being soaked with water during the break at halftime was the only bright spot of the day.

On security, two security vehicles with Police officers were stationed at the entrance of the Stadium throughout the duration of the match, but surprisingly the vehicles drove with the security personnel as soon as the match ended.

I was shocked because the security officers left at the time they were needed most. Considering the location and any other critical issues is transportation to, and from Stadium which is located at the outskirts of Port Harcourt Town, along Port Harcourt International Airport Road.

It’s not surprising that Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium was virtually empty since most of the supporters of the home team, Rivers United, could not find their way to venue of the match due to the harsh economic conditions in the country.

How can a league be viable under this unhealthy condition if supporters of a team could not make their way to the match venues or even afford match tickets?

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