Nigeria Premier Football League(NPFL) players have been commended for a clean bill, going by the results of random tests carried out by Nigeria’s National Anti -Doping Committee (NADC).
NPFL Chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye welcomed the release of the test results communicated to the league in a letter from the NADC. The agency have also indicated plans to continue with the drug testing exercise in the new season and sought the support of the league.
‘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.
In the letter, NADC’s Deputy Director/Head Drug Testing, Odo Raphael Okafor recalled that the tests were conducted to keep football clean and add integrity to the NPFL.
The letter stated: ‘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 test 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 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 sports men and women, we wish to carry out drug testing in some randomly selected matches in the 2025/2026 league season’, the NADC wrote.
In the ongoing season, the NADC indicated that it plans to carry out 16 tests in four match fixtures that would be selected at random.
It sought the support of the NPFL to successfully complete the task.
Elegbeleye assured the agency of support for their activities in the new season, saying, the agency is going to receive total support from the NPFL to ensure another successful round of testing.
