The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has announced that the Federation Cup final will get a new date after doubt has been raised over the current final date which was earmarked as August 16.
The reason for the date shift has been attributed to NFF’s inability to reach an agreement with the Lagos State government as the state is hosting the final at the Teslim Balogun stadium.
“We don’t have a date for the final of the Federation Cup yet, and we shall continue to wait for a date from the Lagos Government and we are hoping that will be done on time,” said NFF director of competitions Mohammed Sanusi.
Although the official disposition of the NFF suggests that the date confusion is based wholly on the lack of an agreement with the Lagos State government, sports industry insiders have raised a new and interesting angle.
The ‘former’ date, August 16, coincides with the kick-off of the English Premier League and insiders suggest that the date change may have resulted amid fears of poor attendances, lack of public interest and television audiences.
The Federation Cup is being branded and marketed as a nationwide event which sees a definitive champion emerge. With the NFF facing difficulty marketing the entity as an attractive enough proposition, competing with the English Premier League or any other foreign league will make the Federation Cup brand even harder to market.
In the last three years, the FA Cup has been without a sponsor after a prolonged partnership with Coca-Cola. Preventing the potential clash with the more endearing and attractive English Premier League could well be a move targeted at ensuring that the NFF can to some degree ensure that its eventual FA Cup sponsors do not have to compete for the attention of Nigeria’s key football market.
