The Nigeria National League, NNL has confirmed that Akwa Ibom base club, FC Dakaada, have withdrawn its participation from the league.
The NNL disclosed that the withdrawal takes effect immediately,. urging all other participating clubs to remain abreast of the new development.
The league body stated that following a letter of withdrawal sent by the team, a new fixture for Conference A has been issued while all matches involving Dakkada FC will no longer hold.
The development has now reduced the total number of matches for the season from 292 to 274 games, with 35 clubs remaining in the league instead of 36.
NNL Chief Operating Officer, Danlami Alanana, described the development as unfortunate and advised clubs in Conference A to make sure that they acclimatize themselves with the guidelines of the league and show spirit sportsmanship.
The league body is expected to issue further directives on how the withdrawal will affect the group standings and fixture adjustments for the ongoing season as well as possible sanctions or adjustments to the league fixtures.
Reasons for Dakaada quilting the competition remains unclear but the club’s battle with administrative and financial challenges have been linked to it.
Sources held that the team expressed disgruntlement over their conference placement due to NNL’s decision not to put them in same group with same date club, Akwa United.
A source in the NNL Secretariat who preferred to be anonymous said, “The team wrote to us informing that they now have new management under private ownership, which was not an issue for us.
“However, they insisted on playing in Conference B, where Akwa United and other teams are grouped. This request was rejected in order to maintain the integrity of the League. Their refusal to accept this led to their decision to withdraw.
“The League Management has accepted their decision to pull out because we don’t want anything that will rubbish the league.*
Dakkada, formerly known as Akwa Starlets, served as the junior team to Akwa United before gaining promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, in 2016 after which they adopted the name Dakkada FC.
