Globacom Premier League: Relegation throws Prime into disarray

Stories by Tosin Omojola - 30.04.2008

Osogbo-based side, Prime FC was in disarray last weekend after the club was forced to a barren draw by visiting Sunshine Stars International of Akure in a Globacom Premier League Week 36 encounter.

The result condemned Prime to relegation as the team will end up with at least 44 points if it wins its last two matches which will not be enough to save it from going down.

A series of dramatic scenes were created after the encounter in which the team played out its heart to win but met stiff resistance from Sunshine Stars who were also determined to win the match to keep their hope of playing on the continent alive.

Immediately the referee brought the proceedings to an end, things fell apart within the Prime team as the players and officials angrily left the pitch with their heads bowed in utter disappointment.

While some of the players wept profusely, others were busy trading blames, just as some of the club’s fans also showed their displeasure.

At a stage, some of the club officials were openly confronted by some supporters who heaped the blame of the team’s poor outing on them, while some others criticised the club management over the development.

In another scene, some fans were heard abusing the players for taking the encounter seriously against the visitors, asking, if it just dawned on them that they were on the road to the lower division.

The match was characterised by few ugly incidents with some Prime fans hauling stones at the bench of Sunshine Stars leading to the encounter being halted twice in spite of the presence of the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Bolaji Ojo-Oba, and chairman, Technical Committee of the NFA, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, among others.

Earlier, officials of Prime had turned back the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) crew which had concluded arrangement to beam the match live, on the grounds that no formal notice was sent to the Osun State FA.