Enakhena, Obi, Tinubu speak on NPFL growth

There was once a league. The Nigeria Premier Football League at a time boasted of thrills and fanfare. Gradually that magic and fun is having its way back to the game. And there’s a dream, we don’t want to wake up from. That’s the dream of attaining the EPL’s level of attraction and participation. EDIALE KINGSLEY speaks with Godwin Enakhena, Mitchell Obi and Deji Tinubu on the way towards making this dream a reality.

MANY look back with nostalgia at the days when parents could take their kids to Lagos venues to watch football games, when going to watch teams like Julius Berger or Stationery Stores served as family outings. But the hostility of the Lagos fans and other administrative issues have taken the game away from the ‘Motherland of Nigeria Football’.

The sabbatical is over and football is back in Lagos to the joy and pleasure of soccer loving Lagosians with newly promoted clubs like Ikorodu United and MFM FC lighting up the weekends. Though the problem of the past, in particular violence at venues still casts a shadow over the minds of Lagosians.

MasterSport’s Mitchell Obi reminisces the good old days of the NPFL, “It was a good time and hopefully we are gradually having it back. Weekends were splendid. Imagine going to see these matches, you take boat cruises, spend quality time with your family and then enjoy the numerous live bands and entertainment available around the stadium. On match days, there were a lot of economic activities hosted in these locations”. Mitchell feels the media and sports lovers can help in having the league fully developed. Right now everyone seems to have faith again on the NPFL, and the games in recent weeks have been devoid of all the uncertainties delivering a good dose of exciting football most times and secured viewing in both the Onikan Stadium and Agege Township Stadium.

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Speaking to National Daily Sports on the level of security and standard of the facilities was commissioner Deji Tinubu, he said,” We have done our home work, the security team have been fantastic, we know what it takes for your facility to be certified in the Premiership, what we have also done is sensitize the fans, come here for the football and go home knowing you have been part of something good”.

Speaking further on football in Lagos, he said, “The key thing is we want away fans to come into Lagos facilities and be treated like home fans, we are all one people. The average fan wants football without violence, that is what they pay for and that is what they will have by the grace of God”.

In the same vein, Godwin Enakhena who is the Executive Chairman of the Football Club of Mountain Of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM FC), says, “Nowadays, Agege Stadium is the place to be every weekend for just N200 and N500 you enjoy quality football and good entertainment”.

Now that all seem to be taking a new spin, and there is a form of sincerity in the part of the League managers to develop the game. It’s time to ponder on how as a nation we can jointly see to the development of the League. All over the world, football is regarded and treated as a business that is ultimately expected to make a lot of profit. The football industry is generally a money-spinning industry that is why we have leagues like the English Premier League generating revenue of almost $10 Billion.

This revenue is usually generated through 3 main streams, which include; Match-Day Gate Receipts, Broadcasting Revenue (Domestic and International) and Commercial Revenue (Sponsorship and Merchandise).

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Looking at the major sources of income of Football leagues and teams worldwide we can then understand the root of the problems of why the Nigerian Football League System is not generating as much revenue as it ought to. One point that readily comes to mind as to why there is a low revenue generation is that as of now the league hasn’t yet attained its full potential yet.

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An average football-loving Nigerian can name about 10 teams in the English Premier League without stress, adorn various Club Jersey and even go on ‘pilgrimage’ to the stadium of their favorite teams in Europe but hardly will you find the same passion for the Nigerian League and its teams. What then could be the causes of this? Mitchel Obi says things will gradually shift towards that desired dream, “Football cannot stand in isolation, and it’s connected to the economy and general system of the Nation. You need adequate security; you need good roads to access the stadiums, lighting to chase away criminals and all that”.

Before now, the quality of play in the Nigerian League was dismal, compared to what one obtains in most European leagues, which most Nigerians are more disposed to. There was no free flow of the game and it was usually more of the “Kick and follow” style. In this regards, there is no denying that Nigeria is blessed with abundant raw talent who needs to be nurtured. And that we have started seeing. What is then advised is that more attention should be placed on the training of the players right from infancy on the technical aspects of the game. This in the long run will translate into a more attractive game play in our league matches. “You need to know that it’s the youth that plays football. We need to get that clearly. We need to scout, discover, train and develop talents. Don’t get it twisted; football is made for the young. You can’t play when you are old. As a youth, you have strength, hunger, passion, focus and less distraction” Mitchell said.

Another item we need to improve is our infrastructure; the quality of the sport infrastructures is not encouraging and inviting. As Mitchel said earlier, you find people going to famous stadia all over the world for example the Emirates Stadium and the San Siro in Italy. These stadia not only have beautiful playing surfaces, they also have side attractions like museums and other things that can make a tour memorable. Same cannot be said of most stadia across the country. I am sure that having world-class stadia like the Nest of Champions, Akwa Ibom State across the nation could further spur the interest of the general public as regards visiting stadia.

Furthermore, another paramount issue with the Nigerian Football League system is the Player’s welfare. This issue has been really neglected to the extent that it results in players going on strike because their wages and allowances have not been paid. For instance, the players of Taraba FC , were owed salaries from the first month of last year to the last month. It took media intevention, legal tussle and players protests to get about seven months paid in January this year. League sides Dolphins Football Club and Sharks Football Club, also recently, embarked on a 7 day strike action resulting from non-payment of their salaries. These issues concerning welfare is paramount among the reasons why our league players do not spare any thought before moving out of the country to play in other leagues (even Vietnamese and Sudanese Leagues!).

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Also the conduct of some of the fans that currently go to the stadia is totally unacceptable. You see touts using narcotics and acting violently, unabated. This automatically discourages an average Nigerian from going to the stadia because he feels his safety is not guaranteed.

The officiating in the Leagues should also be improved for there to be any improvement in the interest people currently have in the league. National Daily Sport once reported the story of a soldier referee who goes to officiate matches with his personal guards of military men strategically placed across the stadium.

To make the Nigerian League system more lucrative and attractive, a holistic approach must be taken and it is pertinent that some of these suggestions should be carried out for there to be any progress.

Overtime, the NPFL has helped groom players who went all out to shine in the international quarters. It wasn’t all about eloping out for greener pastures as the field of the NPFL was once green enough. However that will be a story for our next edition.