‘Sponsors gradually coming back to Nigerian League’

Last season, the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was without a sponsor and as at the time of reporting this, the League Management Company (LMC) is yet to get sponsors for the Nigeria football league. GODWIN ENAKHENA, sports director at MFM in an exclusive chat with BusinessDay’s ANTHONY NLEBEM, highlights ways the LMC can improve the Nigerian league and make it more attractive for investors.
Following the announcement made by the League Management Committee (LMC) that the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season will kick off on December 18, football stakeholders and enthusiasts are eager to see the season commence. This is even as the previous season was a success but mired with a lot of issues ranging from match officiating and security. As anticipation rises ahead of the new NPFL season, football lovers’ major concern will be how Shehu Dikko led LMC improves the Nigeria League, making it one of the best to be reckoned with in Africa.
What is your assessment of the Nigerian league in terms of officiating and security?

Administratively, the League Management Company has done a great job trying to reposition the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to be viable but the cankerworm, which is win at all cost syndrome by clubs, needs to be dealt with decisively by putting most of the games live on television, at least 70%.

Like I said earlier, let us start with having live games on television, which will bring the game and players close to Nigerians. Let Nigerians know that violence is a thing of the past in our league. These are very important issues that must be put right for football fans to come back to the stadia. For your information, sponsors are gradually coming back to the league; this will be made public when the season kick starts in December.

Security has improved across stadia in Nigeria but the biggest issue is that of officiating. Referees need proper monitoring by first and foremost the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) and independent assessors. Truth is some of them want to carry out their jobs professionally but are faced with many constraints bothering on threats to their lives and intimidation from the home teams but I am happy the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is on top of the situation with the recent suspension and retirement of some referees who performed poorly last season. This will send a strong signal to the bad eggs in the profession.
What areas do you think the LMC needs to improve in making the Nigerian League the best in Africa?

The LMC has to be very professional. It has done very well but can still improve. Administratively, the Shehu Dikko led team has proved a lot of doubting Thomases wrong with decisive decisions taken last season. A good example was the expulsion of Giwa Football Club from the league after the Jos based team ran foul of the rules. The LMC has on many occasions come down very hard on clubs who refused to play by the rules. Clubs are banished from their homes, fined, and players have also been suspended or fined. These are things that were lacking in time past. But they have to find a way of working in tandem with the NFF Organizing and Disciplinary Committee so that they will not have their decisions upturned nearly all the time.
Why are there no sponsors for the Nigerian League?

The problem of the NPFL has not always been that of lack of sponsorship. What has been lacking is attracting the right kind of sponsorship. We have had sponsors who did not want to activate the property they had, for a reason most of us cannot still explain. You will agree with me that no serious sponsor will put their monies on a league that is not well run. Fortunately, Shehu Dikko and his team have put the right structures in place, which has caught the attention of potential sponsors. The dividends of this will manifest before the new season starts. Already, an alcoholic beverage company and SuperSports have taken the lead. It can only get better if we do not frustrate the guys helping in the birth of a new Nigerian league that you and I will be very proud of.