LEAGUE MANAGEMENT COMPANY IN NIGERIA URGENTLY NEED SPORT MARKETING PROFESSIONALS - Study the Job Description

 League Management Company (LMC) is registered with Corporate Affairs Commission to function as administrators of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), otherwise called ‘Glo Premier League.

The limited liability company has been incharge of the elite league for 3 years running, but hasn’t been able to attract the interest and patronage of most football consumers in Nigeria.  There’s an urgent need therefore, to employ a sport marketing professional to come on board.

If you are sport marketing professional you may have observed it already. There seem to be no marketing or lack of marketing foresight in the management of Glo Premier League. What Theodore Levitt called “Marketing Myopia?” Some of the standard symptoms of myopia could clearly be seen in the league.

#The belief that winning absolves all sins; course club owners to want to win by all means. This has led to match fixing scandals, hooliganism, witchcraft and sorcery in many of the league matches.

#The focus on just playing league matches rather than identifying and anticipating how to satisfy the needs and wants of football consumers in the market. It’s quite repealing that the league has failed to interest most football fans in Nigeria.

# The gross dependent on government funding rather than long term investment in quality organization that will attract and retain fans and sponsorships for the league.

No professional league can survive without fans. Indeed, fans (costumers) are the most important factor in football business. Without them there’s nothing left to cheer or enjoy from football. Sponsors come because of the fans and give lifeline and reputation to the league.

Consequences of Marketing Myopia in the Management of Glo Premier League

·         Corporate sponsors are scared off, in large part, because of poor public image resulting from match fixing scandals, insecurity at the stadium and leadership strife.

·         Poor players’ welfare package. Clubs’ non-respect of contractual agreements resulting to mass flight of quality players, which generally lowered standard of the league.

·         Non-sensitization and persuasion of potential spectators resulting to empty stadiums and diminishes revenue from ticket sales as well as other merchandize.

Job Description of the Sport Marketing Professional

+ The Sport marketing professional that is trained to handle and cure all issues pertaining to sport business myopia. Sport marketing job consists of all activities designed to meet the needs and wants of football consumers in this regard, through exchange processes.

Sport marketing has developed two major thrust: the marketing of sport products and services directly to consumers of sports; and the marketing of other consumer and industrial product and services through the use of sport promotions.

+ The Sport marketing professional that will properly re-package and re-brand the league products and put in motion promotions that will persuade spectators to start patronizing the league en masse; the one who can get the stadium to be full to capacity each week of the season.

+ The Sport marketing professional that can easily get corporate sponsorships for the league and clubs; the one who can support brand managers to use football to promote their corporate goods and services.

LMC should start now to develop the league’s marketing department by employing sport marketing graduates into the system.