The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has called on all 20 clubs to modernise their digital operations and create commercially sustainable structures, warning that weak data and limited media activity could cost Nigerian football valuable sponsorship deals.
NPFL Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi made the appeal in Enugu on the closing day of the NPFL–Afrinvest Media and Marketing Workshop. The event brought together club media officers and marketing executives to examine branding, sponsorship and data collection ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
Owumi said the workshop was designed partly to help clubs understand how to attract businesses such as Afrinvest as partners in the league’s development.
He also announced a ₦100,000 prize for any club able to present a working website that records at least 200,000 hits and contains complete statistics from the recently finished season.
Owumi said several contracts worth millions of dollars were currently being discussed, but clubs and the league often had little useful information to show potential sponsors. He stressed that a website lacking regular content had no value, while inactive media and marketing departments ultimately weakened the clubs they served.
He urged teams to move away from depending primarily on government subventions and to pursue income through digital channels, supporter engagement and commercial alliances. Recalling his time with Rangers International, Owumi said carefully planned marketing partnerships helped the club land a ₦200 million sleeve sponsorship agreement and build funds exceeding $270,000 before he left.
Afrinvest Manager Emmanuel Eleojo said the company would maintain its support for the league’s commercial growth through its “Finance Meets Football” initiative. He highlighted Afrinvest’s partnership with Rangers, which began in 2023, as an example of what such cooperation could achieve.
According to Eleojo, the arrangement has contributed to youth development, improvements to Rangers’ academy structure, national-team selections for the club’s players and two league championships in three years. He added that Nigerian football’s progress depended not only on results and performances on the field, but also on the quality of the institutions operating behind each club.
Rangers International General Manager Amobi Ezeaku praised the NPFL for organising the programme and called on club leaders to view media and marketing units as essential parts of their revenue strategy. He said the ambition should be to see Rangers and other clubs’ shirts worn across the country, with media officers and marketing directors serving as the foundation of commercial income.
