Lagos, 15 November 2025 – The much-anticipated clash between Ikorodu City of Lagos and Plateau United Football Club of Jos billed for Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Sunday, November 16, 2025, is already gathering storm and attracting attention. This is due to serious concerns surrounding the conditions under which the visiting Plateau United team trained this evening ahead of tomorrow’s NPFL Matchday 13.
The visiting team, who had been approved a 5:00 PM training slot following their travel, were forced to delay their session until around 6:30 PM due to an earlier NNL fixture. However, when they finally took to the pitch, two crucial issues severely curtailed their session.
Firstly, the team’s representative sadly confirmed that the stadium’s floodlights were not activated, forcing the players to conduct their practice in near-darkness. A key club figure, speaking on the situation, lamented, “The light workout we were supposed to do for probably an hour or an hour and a half, we’ve just done 30 minutes, and then it was dark. The place is dark, as you can see. There are no floodlights here.”
Secondly, contrary to standard NPFL guidelines that grant visiting teams sufficient, exclusive time and space for pre-match preparation, Plateau United was compelled to share the pitch with their opponents, Ikorodu City. The club’s official revealed that when they approached Ikorodu City to ask them to vacate the field, the situation escalated into an almost physical confrontation.
The refusal of the home team to leave the pitch was allegedly sanctioned by their leadership. “Their chairman bluntly said that we should report to anybody we feel like and that he doesn’t care. They have to share the pitch with us,” the source stated, highlighting the shocking defiance of established league protocols. This disruptive setup, combining a rushed, dark, 30-minute session with the presence of their rivals, has directly compromised Plateau United’s ability to prepare effectively for the crucial fixture.
Speaking to our reporter, Amb. Miri Timnan Nyantau (M.T.N), a prominent football administrator, said if these accounts are confirmed, then, “this treatment is unacceptable and undermines fair play in Nigerian football.” He continued that such maltreatment should not be tolerated, even if the team had to adapt under difficult conditions. He called on the “NFF and NPFL to ensure that all teams have fair access to training facilities and proper conditions for match preparation.”
Tomorrow’s match is expected to proceed under close scrutiny to ensure fairness and impartial officiating, as Plateau United formally calls on the NPFL to investigate these alleged “disruptive tactics” immediately.
