THE MONEY BALL

FROM THE GOLDMINE By Enefiok Udo-Obong

Just as the Super Eagles prepared to tackle Liberia in the World Cup qualifiers in Lagos, it was announced that Nigeria’s telecommunication giants MTN had signed a N1.5 billion sponsorship deal with the Nigeria Football Federation over three-year period. Similarly, aviation giants added an additional annual revenue of N300m to the kitty of the Federation. It was a financial coup by very ambitious NFF President, Amaju Pinnick. He proudly announced the deal with the acknowledgement of finally achieving one of his campaign promises to make Nigerian football financially independent from the government. However while the applause is still loud, it brings to bare more responsibilities to the NFF in their task to develop football in Nigeria.

While the discussion is still on, it should be noted that the NFF has a lot to do in order to please an expectant populace and funding has always been key to this. The Federation, compared to other sporting federations in the country is well funded. The Federal Government allocated N1, 234,390,243 (over one billion, two hundred million naira) to the NFF in the 2021 budget. Between 2019 and 2020, FIFA, the world football governing body has disbursed over 93 per cent of the USD 2,120,000 (two million, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars) which is over one billion one hundred and fifty million Naira with current conversions. The Nigeria Football Federation also has a N500 million a year deal with AITEO group and is enjoying a kit sponsoring deal with NIKE. The details of that contract and bonuses are not public. FIFA recently also announced a COVID-19 relief fund for all member federations of one million dollars each and Nigeria benefitted from the World Cup prize funds.

So where does all this money go to and how does the NFF utilize them? The sheer size of its purse makes Pinnick the most powerful man in Nigerian sports. The scrutiny from the public is virtually non-existent as long as the darling Super Eagles perform on the pitch. But still, there are responsibilities that the NFF need to do. The development of the game in the country is a primary responsibility and making sure every part of the country enjoys football growth is essential. The running of the NFF secretariat, funding of all national teams, payment of coaches and travel for qualifying matches are some high expenditure activities. However, observers would still tell you that the income of the NFF is not sufficient to totally follow up on its mandate. To make concrete plans the NFF needs more sustainable income.

From the information made public, the NFF major sources of income are the government, FIFA grants and sponsorship. Of these three, only the FIFA funds is risk free and plannable but insufficient on its own. The funds from government is embroiled a lot of times in politics and bureaucratic approvals while noting that they have specific budgetary line allocations by law. So for sustainability, the NFF must still get more sources of funding.

What really is a working budget for the NFF and what do they need the money for? When we consider that during the 2019-20 season, the English FA generated a total turnover of £335m (almost N234.5 Billion) (2018-19: £466m) with an operating profit of £9.8m (2018-19: £62.8m) we have a long way to go. But to actually arise at a budget for the federation, the NFF have to get a strategy. The strategy should be youth based. Investing in infrastructure for football development at the grassroots level all over the country. The NFF can make football more influential in our day to day lives. The power of football can help social change and justice in the country. The NFF can use football as a vehicle for peace, unity and social justice just as it is done in England where the ‘Kick out racism” is driven by the English FA.

The NFF should also improve on its property, the FA Cup. Making it more attractive in presentation and packaging can improve its excitement. One key factor here is broadcasting and another is match day experience. These are great sources of revenue. The English FA’s main commercial asset is its ownership of the rights to England internationals and the FA Cup. Broadcasting income remains the FA’s largest revenue stream with both domestic and international broadcasting rights for England fixtures and the FA Cup tied up until at least 2021. Nigeria should follow this blueprint too. We should negotiate our ownership of Super Eagles international matches and improve on the FA cup.

The reality on the ground is that while the new sponsors of the NFF are a welcome development for our football, the money available is totally insufficient for the kind of development we require, though in part this need would arise from a clear and definitive strategy from our football administrators. Sponsorship is key in getting these funds, but given the volatile nature of businesses and politics in this clime, it is not the most sustainable way to generate revenue.

For now, as long as the Super Eagles keep on winning, the money may keep rolling in.