Dear Sir,
I wish to respectfully draw the attention of the NLO Board to the venue chosen for the 2025/2026 South-South and South-East playoff.
It has been observed that the entire SS/SE playoff was scheduled to hold in *Aba, Abia State*. The concern is that one of the teams participating at the center is an Abia-based team. This gives that team undue home advantage over other teams traveling from Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, and Ebonyi.
At the same time, we note that in other centers, teams were asked to travel far from their base. For example: teams playing in *Lagos Center* and *Kwara Center* are not playing in their home states. They are bearing the cost and stress of traveling far.
This double standard is not fair to grassroots clubs. It sends the wrong message that proximity and influence matter more than merit and fairness.
*Our humble requests:*
1. *Review the SS/SE center*: Consider a neutral venue that is not the home state of any participating team, or rotate hosting among the zones.
2. *Apply one rule for all centers*: If Lagos and Kwara teams must travel far, then SS/SE teams should also be in a neutral state.
3. *Publish clear criteria* for selecting playoff centers ahead of next season to avoid bias and protect the integrity of the league.
Grassroots football survives on fairness and trust. Many of these clubs went unbeaten all through the season and invested heavily. They deserve a level playing field.
We believe in NLO and in the growth of Nigerian football. Please look into this urgently so clubs don’t lose faith in the system.
