The Nigeria Premier Football League is missing out on lucrative sponsorship and commercial opportunities because many of its clubs lack credible digital data and a strong online presence, stakeholders have warned.
The concern was raised on Wednesday at the NPFL–Afrinvest Media and Marketing Workshop in Enugu, where media officers and marketing heads from the league’s 20 clubs gathered to explore strategies for driving revenue through branding, digital transformation and fan engagement.
Speaking at the workshop, the Manager of Afrinvest’s Enugu Office, Emmanuel Eleojo, said the firm’s partnership with the NPFL was built on the belief that football could only achieve sustainable growth when supported by sound financial structures and stronger commercial systems.
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“For us at Afrinvest, internally, there is this philosophy we call ‘Finance Meets Football’. That is how we have tagged our intervention with our partnership with Rangers International and now the NPFL.
“The success of the Nigerian football league is not really only about what happens on the pitch, but also the strength of those behind the institutions and clubs playing on the pitch,” Eleojo said.
While reaffirming Afrinvest’s commitment to helping clubs become financially sustainable, the Chief Operating Officer of the NPFL, Davidson Owunmi, revealed that the league continues to lose sponsorship opportunities because many clubs are unable to provide the digital data corporate organisations now demand before investing.
“After the broadcast rights today, the next money-spinning or revenue-generating resource is data. We need to tell ourselves the open truth today,” Owunmi said.
“We have ongoing contracts, but do you know what they ask of us? ‘What is your data? Where is your data for the league?’ We don’t have it.”
According to him, the absence of reliable audience metrics, digital engagement figures and consistent online content has weakened the league’s ability to convince sponsors of its commercial value.
He urged clubs to improve their digital presence by consistently producing quality content and maintaining active online platforms.
“We need our clubs to be visible. We need your presence in the social space. We need all the clubs generating data because the NPFL only archives what you generate.
“If we have 20 active Premier League teams generating data from their clubs, it makes our own website very rich. But if nothing is coming from Bendel Insurance, Kwara United or Shooting Stars, what will be on the NPFL central platform? Nothing,” he said.
Owunmi also challenged clubs to reduce their dependence on government funding by strengthening their media and marketing departments.
“You cannot just depend on the government continuously. A dead media department is a dead club. A dead marketing unit is a dead club. We want our clubs to be healthy financially.
“Enough is enough. You cannot be doing the same thing all over again and expect a different result,” he added.
Also speaking, Rangers International General Manager, Amobi Ezeaku, described media and marketing officers as critical to the financial future of Nigerian football clubs.
“I appreciate Afrinvest for agreeing to sponsor this workshop that is about to change our financial status as a league. We want to see the clubs’ jerseys all over the country. What we’re talking about today is having a healthy ecosystem in our league. Media officers and marketing directors should be our backbones in terms of revenue generation,” he said.
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One of the workshop’s lead resource persons, George Isitua-Onukwu, said many corporate organisations remain reluctant to partner with NPFL clubs because they cannot guarantee consistent visibility or professional brand activation.
He advised clubs to adopt structured commercial calendars with clearly defined sponsorship renewal timelines, activation plans and reporting systems.
“Clubs without a structured calendar for renewals, activation briefs and reporting are, by definition, always reacting,” he said.
The workshop, themed “The Role of Marketing and Media Officers in Generating Wealth for Professional Football Clubs,” focused on helping NPFL clubs build stronger brands, improve digital visibility, attract sponsors and engage fans as part of broader efforts to make Nigerian professional football commercially sustainable.
