NPFL club Heartland FC and Nationwide League One (NLO) side, Dino Sporting Club of Abeokuta, are embroiled in a transfer dispute over defender Peters Temitope Afolayan, Completesports.com reports.
Afolayan, a centre-back, joined the Naze Millionaires before the start of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League season from Dino Sporting Club.
The defender was a key figure in Emmanuel Amuneke’s Heartland FC backline, featuring in most of the team’s 19 first-round league games.
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On Wednesday, 15 January 2025, Heartland issued a statement declaring Afolayan “missing.” The club claimed the player had not returned to camp since 6 January when the team regrouped to prepare for the second stanza of the season.
Heartland, five-time NPFL champions, stated that Afolayan signed a two-season contract with them, set to run until the end of the 2025/2026 season. They also alleged that Afolayan absconded after their matchday 19 fixture against Lobi Stars on 28 December 2024 at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.
The club announced they had alerted the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), NPFL, security agencies, and player intermediaries about Afolayan’s status, maintaining that he remains their bona fide player under a valid contract.
However, Dino Sporting Club dismissed Heartland’s claims, asserting that they had duly withdrawn the player’s services on 30 December 2024.
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Dino Sporting Club produced a memo, dated 30 December 2024 and addressed to Heartland’s management, notifying the Naze Millionaires of their decision to recall Afolayan.
They claimed Afolayan was on a season-long loan to Heartland, which expired after the first stanza of the league. According to Dino, Heartland failed to accept their request for a loan extension, necessitating the defender’s withdrawal.
The memo, signed by Dino Sporting Club CEO Samuel O. Columbus, insisted that Afolayan’s playing rights had reverted to the original owners, effective from the memo’s date.
By Sab Osuji
