Nigeria National League: Teams set for photo finish

The league would end on Saturday.

The participating teams in the Nigeria National League (second division) will need to fight till the last match to know if they will pick promotion or demotion tickets to play either in the lucrative Premier League or the amateur ranks next season.

The league season officially ends on Saturday August 31 with the last set of matches billed to take place simultaneously across the country.

As all the teams in Group A and B gear up to play the final round of matches of the 2012/13 season, only Giwa Football Club has gained promotion to the elite division next season while four other clubs will have to wait for the last blast of the whistle on Saturday to know if they will join Giwa to play in the Premiership next season.

However, the teams with good chances of picking the remaining three tickets are Abia Warriors, which needs a home win to top Group B even as Crown FC of Ogbomosho and Remo Babes are hot on the heels to join the big boys party.

Also, Ranch Bees FC Taraba; Plateau United and Kaduna-based DSS FC are struggling to go through with Giwa in Group A.

In the same vein there will also be fierce battles to avoid relegation to the amateur rank as teams go to the final battle on Saturday to win to escape relegation to the less fancied third tier league.

Among the troubled teams are Adamawa Utd and Niger Tornadoes, as well as Prime FC and Rising Stars FC in Groups A and B respectively.

The above scenario has made the final matches of the NNL very unpredictable for each club would not know their faith until the end of the game especially the table toppers and back backbenchers alike.

Meanwhile, NNL chairman, Emeka Inyama, has reiterated the resolve of his board to ensure the competition ends on a good note to crown the hard work that management staff, board members, the media and clubs have put in the league.

”I have no doubt in my mind that we shall see perfect ending of the league with the logistics deployed to ensure a flawless handling of the final matches nationwide,” Inyama boasted.