The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) will remain less attractive to serious investors under the present order where nearly all the teams rely so much on government subvention and are managed by politicians who know next to nothing about the development of the game.

President Bola Tinubu must not shy away from football now that he is in power. This is time for all the veteran Eagles’ clique that visited him before the 2023 elections to veer off the primrose part and think more about what will benefit all. Sports Minister, John Eno, needs presidential backing to sanitise football without drawing sanctions from the world governing body FIFA.

The problem with Nigerian football is those who call themselves stakeholders. This group has hijacked and killed the ‘beautiful game’. The NPFL is full of structural defects. Nearly all the clubs are owned by state governments. Governors appoint their boys to supervise the clubs.

There is hardly any budget at the beginning of the season. In one instance, one of the big teams has had a terrible run under the management of a Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly. Players are not only owed their wages, the Deputy Speaker waits until a few days to a league game when he runs to Government House to ask for money from the governor.

In some cases, funds are only made available a few hours to an important match. It is a shame that Nigeria’s most successful club, Enyimba, drew negative global attention in the recent past when players protested in South Africa over unpaid allowance. The import of that message was lost by the Abia State Government, owners of the club. South Africa leads by example.

Mamelodi Sundowns have shown that the game is all about sound management and winning trophies. That country’s league can compete with some of the best in Europe. It is, therefore, little surprise that Super Eagles number one goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, plays there.

Clubs in South Africa have Logistics Departments that handle trips. There is an existing arrangement that ensures that no team travels by road beyond three hours. Any journey beyond that must be by air. This is possible because the South African Football Association (SAFA) and South African Airways (SAA) reached an agreement. SAA does not have to deal with club officials, all ticket payments come directly.

Football is a national religion and a money spinning industry. Tinubu cannot fold his hands and watch our children wander into criminality and voodoo…

From SAFA which relies on subvention that is due the clubs. And because of sound management, teams can fly out at night after a game, to save accommodation costs. Many of the NPFL teams do not have enough money to fly. Even match officials travel by road, exposing them to danger.

On February 2, 2023, Dr. Kingsley Eneogwe, a referee, from Abia State, died in a car crash on his way back from Kaduna after officiating in a match. Bandits and armed robbers have also made trips more dangerous. In December last year, Sunshine Stars were attacked on the Benin-Ore Expressway. One official, Taiwo Dosunmu, died as a result of injuries he sustained.

Two years earlier, Adamawa United suffered a similar fate. The driver of their bus was abducted. A big league should not be going through these challenges. The NPFL has to be rebranded to make it investment friendly. The idea of having 20 clubs without adequate financial capacity makes little sense. This is not a case of the more, the merrier.

Enoh should talk Tinubu into changing the face of the NPFL to grow jobs and finance which will boost the economy. If at the end of the 2023/ 2024 season, there are just 10 clubs that have enough solid base to play in the league, so be it. There are selfish stakeholders who are benefiting from the rot and would not like to let go. Many of them are politicians who have nothing to contribute towards development.

Tinubu must keep them away because they will try to approach him through their respective state governors. Football in Nigeria is big business. In 1978, FIFA President Joao Havelange was at the National Stadium, Surulere, to watch a league game between Insurance and Raccah Rovers.

He was so impressed and vowed to give Africa an additional World Cup slot. This he did, beginning from España 1982 when two tickets went to the continent. The NPFL should think about dividing the league into two Conferences, Southern and Northern, to narrow the travel distance, considering the terrible roads and troubling insecurity.

There could also be zonal games after which the round robin pattern will be adopted to select a winner. The Flykite Promotions organised Super Six in Lagos last year was a sellout. Football is a national religion and a money spinning industry. Tinubu cannot fold his hands and watch our children wander into criminality and voodoo, in the absence of an enabling environment. (THISDAY)

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