On Monday, November 11, the hammer of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) board fell heavily on Plateau United and Bendel Insurance following the crowd disturbance that marred both clubs’ home matches against Enugu Rangers and Kano Pillars respectively.
It would be recalled that after the title holders Rangers forced Plateau United to a 0-0 draw at the New Jos Stadium, irate fans believed to be supporters of the club attacked the match officials and injured Daniel Onyia, a player of the visiting team as well. The same barbaric act was witnessed at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Benin City where fans of Bendel Insurance unleashed mayhem on the match officials after Rabiu Ali’s stoppage time penalty produced Pillars’ second away win of the season.
To demonstrate that it has zero tolerance for such violent behaviours, the NPFL board descended on the two clubs with severe sanctions. The league organisers in a Summary Jurisdiction fined both clubs a total of N8.2 million. In addition, each was deducted three points and three goals from the points and goals. Furthermore, they would play their next three home matches behind closed doors. Although Plateau United and Insurance can appeal the punitive decisions, the prompt reaction by the NPFL would serve as a deterrent to other offenders.
Therefore, what the NPFL did to the two clubs is highly commendable because football is not war. Moreover, we are no longer living in the state of nature when life was nasty, brutish, and short, according to Thomas Hobbes. Therefore, anything that is capable of endangering anyone’s life has to be dealt with decisively. If football venues are allowed to become slaughter slabs, nobody in his right senses would risk his life to go there.
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In fact, the NPFL had done so much to checkmate the excessive behaviour of home fans who took it upon themselves to intimidate visiting clubs into submission of points to their teams. Before now, away victories in the NPFL were scarce commodities, but the trend has changed as visiting teams now win and return to their bases without dire consequences. For the second time this season, the NPFL witnessed four away victories last weekend. It is against this background that the incidents in Jos and Benin City last weekend must be vehemently condemned.
However, while some of us are pleased with the efforts by the NPFL board to make all the match venues safer, it is also necessary to remind the league organisers that they also deserve a hefty fine for constantly bringing the game to disrepute. In the Summary Jurisdiction notices to Plateau United and Bendel Insurance, both clubs were fined and warned against bringing the league to shame. But in spite of its sanctimonious disposition, the NPFL is equally guilty of the same offence. Why then is the pot calling the kettle black?
It is rather unfortunate that since the inception of professional football in Nigeria, those saddled with the responsibility of administering the game have been unable to consistently put the domestic league on live television. This has remained a big setback for the growth of the league because apart from the failure to maximise the commercial potential inherent in the league, talents that abound in the NPFL are denied the opportunity to be seen around the world.
In 2013, the then League Management Company (LMC) led by Nduka Irabor signed a five-year deal worth N54 billion with Satellite broadcaster SuperSport to broadcast live matches and highlights of the Nigeria Professional Football (NPFL) matches to its global audience. The lucrative deal was to commence in 2015 and end in 2019. Unfortunately, after only two seasons, SuperSport ended the relationship in 2017 as they cited a lack of financial transparency on the part of the LMC.
The aborted deal was a major blow for the local players who had enjoyed the big platform to advertise themselves. In fact, Stephen Odey remains one of the major beneficiaries of the partnership with SuperSport. The live broadcast of matches exposed him to the world when he was playing for the MFM of Lagos. To date, he is playing professional football abroad. In fact, most football fans still remember with nostalgia, the night matches that were beamed live on SuperSport.
Five years after the sudden departure of SuperSport, the present leadership of the NPFL under Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye entered into another broadcast partnership with StarTimes in a five-year deal that was put at N1billion. Signed in 2023, Hon. Elgbeleye said the deal would potentially witness a N50million increment annually from till 2028. Sadly, after a few matches in the ongoing season, the agreement with StarTimes is already in crisis. The live matches are no more, but the NPFL is yet to explain the sudden blackout. Is there a better way to disgrace the league?
To me, there is nothing more shameful than the failure of the league organisers to successfully and consistently put the league on live television. It is embarrassing that while smaller countries like Zambia and Ethiopia have their leagues on SuperSport, the NPFL is nowhere to be found. There is every need for league organisers who are constantly in need of money to prosecute the matches to exploit the commercial assets of the NPFL to the benefit of the poorly funded clubs and other stakeholders.
As long as the NPFL can’t keep the league steady on television, it should minimise or desist from accusing the clubs of bringing the league to ignominy. The most surprising is that the NPFL has failed to come out with a workable partnership with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) to televise the matches. This brings to mind the broadcast equipment purchased for the self-acclaimed ‘largest network in Africa’ by the federal government when Nigeria hosted the World U-17, U-20 Championships, and the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja. Where are the ultra-modern broadcast equipment that were wasting away at the MKO Abiola National Stadium? Why can’t the NPFL look inward?
Well, this is a wake-up call for the league organisers to think out of the box and find a permanent solution to this constant disappearance of the league from the television. The benefits of having the league on TV are numerous and can’t be over-emphasised. The top leagues in the world like the EPL rake in billions of pounds annually from broadcast deals alone.
So, if there is no better alternative, the NPFL should immediately resolve the issues that have caused the ongoing blackout for StarTimes to resume the live telecast of matches for the benefit of those who for various reasons can’t go to the match venues. If the NPFL fails to put its house in order to restore live broadcast of matches, it is also bringing the league to disrepute.
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