It was a historical landmark on Wednesday May 10, 2017 as the Nationwide League One (NLO) and Pipul TV, in Lagos signed a 3-year Title Sponsorship deal worth N100million in its first year.
A deal with the intent to reposition the NLO in terms of exposure and also provide necessary incentives to enable a better performance in the League and in Nigerian football in general as the NLO provides the grassroots market to Nigerian football.
Mohammed Alkali, the Independent Chairman of the NLO is optimistic the partnership will change the fortune of football in Nigeria.
Alkali also said, “This Title Sponsorship deal with Pipul TV will change the fortune of the stakeholders in the league and it is a welcome development.”
“This deal will definitely reduce the burden incurred by the owners of the clubs in the Nationwide League and it will interest you to know that over 80% of club owners are private individuals, not government owned clubs”
He stressed further that the league is a viable option for Corporate Nigeria to invest in with 189 clubs jostling for honors at the three divisions of the league.
Speaking at the historical event, Ben Okoroafor, Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director of Pipul TV added that the desire to develop local football inspired his organisation to invest in the lowest cadre league in Nigeria.
He said Nationwide League One is the bedrock of football in Nigeria where the future stars are discovered and as a Nigerian company with passion for local content development, the TV outfit was glad to put money.
He noted that NLO is the biggest league in the country as about 189 clubs are expected to feature in the competition across the nation’s six geo-political zones.
“Pipul TV is in this business to give Nigerians value for entertainment and we have over 300 channels on our platform when we roll out our services by July, but the we needed strong local content all our platform and we believe that the best place to start from is the Nationwide league, a league that has over 180 clubs in all the geo-political zones in Nigeria,” Okoroafor said.
He said at least three NLO matches would be broadcast live every week, adding that a 24-hour channel will be dedicated to the league on their platform when it comes upstream.
“It is hoped that the media partnership will strengthen the league and showcase the products of the league to the world, thereby increasing the fortune of all the stakeholders in the NLO. We are glad to be associated with Nigeria Football through the NLO, the cradle of football in Nigeria, ” he concluded.
Nkechi Obi, the Marketing Consultant, NLO, in her remarks stated that the Nigerian grassroots football is yet under tapped and the deal is a move to further tap and maximize the league.
She also added that the deal will provide exposure for the league and it is the first in series of positive landmark changes that is in stock for the NLO and Nigerian football as a whole.
Nkechi further explained that the NLO, having 189 clubs with about N9billion annual turnover amongst the clubs and playing over 2,000 matches in a year, is now over due for exposure and the deal will give the necessary exposure needed to promote the league to both national and international football market and community.
Anthony Nlebem & Hezron Atunde
