Will Star Lager NPFL Sponsorship Change the Game?

• Still some distance to go, and space for more

For the league to become as successful as would create significant value in our society, no one brand can make take on the responsibility alone. Despite the encouraging progress made in the management of the league in recent times, especially this year, more still needs to be done and this would require even more sponsorships. For instance, the NPFL champions received less than 100m naira in prize money last season whereas their counterparts in the South African PSL carted home about two million dollars – close to one billion naira. I am a firmer believer in the thinking that for sports to achieve its potential in popularity, the stakes have got to be high and stars have got to be created. If you put a one billion naira prize money on the NPFL crown it immediately changes the dynamics. Clubs would raise their competitive levels, strive for more professionalism, hire and pay better for quality playing and management staff, and constantly invest in the search for quality talents. More investors will buy into our clubs and ensure better marketing that would spike spectator interest. But to do this the league managers would require more sponsors beyond Supersport and Star. There is room for more of you big Nigerian executives reading this to get on board. There must be room for an official bank of the league, an official telecoms partner and even an official car company. Now is the time to get in and tell a story of how your brand helped to make it happen, because it will happen. Yep, there is still some way to go, but we are marching, with increasingly greater speed, in the right direction.