The Nigeria Premier Football League(NPFL) Chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye, has saluted the players in the divisions for staying drug-free following the doping results from last season, www.aclsports.com reports.
The National Anti-Doping Committee (NADC) of Nigeria conducted a series of random tests on NPFL players in the 2024/25 season, and the league supremo has now commended the players after the release of the test results communicated to the league in a letter.
“I am very satisfied with the outcome of the tests on our players carried out by the NADC, and I want to commend our players for staying clean”, Elegbeleye said in his reaction to the content of the letter.
Meanwhile, Odo Raphael Okafor, the Deputy Director/Head of Drug Testing, recalled that the tests were conducted to keep the sport of football clean and add integrity to the NPFL.
“As you are quite aware, NADC, in her effort to keep the sports of football clean and add integrity to the league, in line with the World Anti-Doping Code, started drug testing with the 2023/2024 league season.
“Out of the Thirty-Two (32) Urine sample tests carried out in a randomly selected match fixtures, the whole results came out to be negative. This indicates that out of the randomly selected players, none is using substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This is commendable,” the letter revealed.
In addition, the doping agency informed the NPFL that it would resume random testing of players at selected league matches for the 2025/26 season.
“In NADC, continued effort and commitment in maintaining fair play, integrity, and protecting the health of our sportsmen and women, we wish to carry out drug testing in some randomly selected matches in the 2025/2026 league season”, the NADC stated.
On a final note, NADC has indicated that it plans to carry out 16 tests in four match fixtures that would be selected at random with the NPFL through the chairman, assuring full support and cooperation.
