Yewa FC starts final push for promotion after playoff drama

Yewa FC Academy is ready to begin a new chapter in its fight for promotion to the Nigeria National League (NNL). This comes just a week after they faced a controversial match in the Nationwide League One (NLO) playoffs.

The Ogun State club has been drawn with Ijebu United FC, Adeyemi FC, and Dokkal Khairu FC in the South-West 2 Promotional Playoffs. The games will take place from 10 to 14 July at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado-Ekiti.

Yewa will kick off their campaign against Ijebu United on 10 July. They will then face Adeyemi FC on 12 July. The club will wrap up the round-robin series against Dokkal Khairu FC on 14 July. Only the group winner will get promotion to the second-tier Nigeria National League.

This is a chance for Yewa to focus on football again. The past week was filled with boardroom arguments and disciplinary issues that almost stopped their promotion hopes.

Yewa reached this stage after beating FC Ebedei 1-0 in a rescheduled match that ended a very controversial playoff issue. This game was one of the most talked-about moments in Nigerian grassroots football this season.

Hadi Abdulsalam scored the winning goal at Maracanna Stadium on Wednesday. The original game at Akure Township Stadium had to be stopped after Yewa's goalkeeper, Olalere Ridwan, got seriously injured from a collision just before halftime.

While the goalkeeper was getting emergency help, the FC Ebedei players left the pitch and did not come back. The referee had to call off the match after waiting the necessary time.

What started as a simple disciplinary issue turned into a larger argument about the NLO rules. Yewa claimed they should have won the match based on Rule 4.12 of the competition regulations. They argued that FC Ebedei left the game without any orders from the referee or match commissioner.

Mojeed Ibrahim, the chairman of Yewa Football Academy, said during the argument that the injury was not the reason the match could not go on. "A football match cannot end because one side decides it is over," he told PREMIUM TIMES. He insisted his team stayed on the field and was ready to play after getting a replacement goalkeeper.

The NLO did not agree to give them the match win right away. Instead, they ordered that the remaining minutes be replayed. Later, the league postponed the rescheduled match after saying they found "critical discrepancies and compromises" in the reports from the match officials.

The league then questioned the main referee and match commissioner about the unauthorized sharing of confidential match reports. They also referred the case to the Integrity Unit and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Disciplinary Committee for more investigation.

The match was finally played on Wednesday. Yewa won 1-0 against FC Ebedei and moved on to the final promotional playoffs. This win was more than just qualification.

For the club, it was a victory after weeks of doubt. They had challenged how the league handled the abandoned match and responded to separate investigations about confidential match reports and player eligibility.

Now, it's all about football again. The South-West 2 playoffs will be another tough test. Every team knows that only one promotion spot is open.

Yewa’s first match against Ijebu United is crucial. It will set the tone for the mini-league. The following matches against Adeyemi FC and Dokkal Khairu FC will decide if the club can turn their controversial journey into promotion.