In the heat of the ongoing 2022/23 abridged Nigeria Professional Football League season, top clubs in the country’s topflight have started making their cases to become fan favourites for the newly-birthed Naija Super 8 tournament which will be held in Lagos by June, The PUNCH reports.
Organizers of the tourney have listed 41 teams across the six geo-political zones of the country to compete in the zonal playoffs. Two clubs with the highest vote tallies in each zone will tackle each other at the zonal play-offs scheduled to hold at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, from June 1 to 3.
There are 16 NPFL clubs among the nominated teams while the rest are drawn from other tiers.
The southwest zone have the highest number of teams with eight while southeast and northeast has the lowest number of teams with six teams each. The other zones have seven teams each.
Following the opening of the voting portal, clubs like Rivers United, Nasarawa United and Lobi Stars have begun to appeal to their fans for votes that will qualify them to play in the money-spinning tournament.
“Naija Super 8 loading. Football is home. Common fans, Lobi is the most successful team in the Middle Belt. Visit http://naijasuper8.ng to vote for Lobi Stars. Grab the chance to join the players in this,” NPFL Group B leaders, Lobi Stars announced.
Rivers United also gave their supporters the reasons to vote for them, “More benefits for participating in the Naija Super 8, publicity for our club, good money for our club, opportunity to expose our players to the world, great opportunity for your club to grow its fan base, and a whole lot more.
Organizers of the tournament have assured that 100 fans of each club in the Super 8 will be mobilized to Lagos for the tourney.
The six best teams at the play-offs will be joined by two wildcard entries to be revealed after the play-offs. The eight teams will participate in the tournament proper at Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Lagos, from June 17 to 25.
