The League Management Company (LMC) is celebrating the Homebased Super Eagles creditable performance and win against Burkina Faso in the African Nation's Championship (CHAN) as a reflection of the steady improvement and growing competitiveness of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) and commended the players for the victory.
Chairman of LMC, Shehu Dikko who was at the Adokie Amiesimaka Stadium with some other directors of the LMC to cheer the players, spoke to them after the match urging them to double their contributions to ensure the final qualification is achieved.
Dikko had led LMC directors and NPFL club chairmen including Okey Ibe of Heartland, Akin Akinbola of Sunshine Stars, Dr. Ayo Ayodele and Okey Kpalukwu of Sharks on a morale boosting visit immediately after the game and urged them to "work even harder for the return leg as the job is not done yet until we secure the ticket to play in the finals in Rwanda".
Dikko described the performance as "a positive statement for our domestic league which didn't go unnoticed by the global football community. More performances like this will be to your personal career benefit and greater attraction of positive attention to the NPFL from across the globe".
Dikko, who also is the 2nd vice president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said the performance of the players and the outcome of the game is in tandem with the federation's objectives of using CHAN as a developmental platform for discovery of players that can be drafted to challenge for shirts in the mainstream Super Eagles.
Yaro Bature of Nasarawa United fired Nigeria into a first half lead while Enyimba's Ezekiel Bassey's wing run into the Burkinabes' box committed them to a penalty tackle that was coolly converted by Gbolahan Salami of Warri Wolves.
The LMC boss said, "the match was won comfortably to ensure that our qualification chances are now in our hands and it is obvious that we posted such credible performances from several players that suggests they can easily make the grade for the Super Eagles". The return leg comes up this Saturday in Ougadougou.