Kano Pillars FC Can Successfully Operate As A Business Enterprise in Nigeria - Consultant Explains Why

A Documentary By Benson Chukwueke, Sport Marketing Consultant and CEO, GreenHunters Sports International

We looked at the viability of Kano Pillars Football Club after Senator Ben Bruce said it was common sense for Africa's richest man Aiiko Dangote to invest in Kano Pillars FC here in Nigeria, rather than to go ahead and buy over Arsenal FC in England.

Leave sentiment apart...
But since the history of football in Nigeria, no club has successfully operated as a business enterprise in this country. Most professional league clubs were either financed by state government, corporate organizations or private individuals as a social responsibility gestures for youth development or otherwise, out of passion for the sport.

Clubs in Nigeria are not structured to make profit, and hardly breakeven from their operational dealings. But our study at GreenHunters Sports International, we discovered that Kano Pillars fc has all the potentials to be a very profitable business enterprise, if the right structure are put in place and a business mogul like Dangote set up and monitor it's progress.

Kano Pillars won Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) three consecutive seasons in 2011-12, 2013 and 2014...and swept over most football fans as well as indigenous youths from Northern Nigeria...estimated to be over 10 million in population.

Till date, Kano Pillars remain the only NPFL team that fill their venue, 18,000 capacity Sani Abacha Stadium to the brim in their regular league home games. As one of the high rated, high competitive team in the elite league, Kano Pillars also attract lots of crowds in most away games.

In the current season, Kano Pillars are title hopfuls, place second on standing table; with stars such as the old war horse Garbo Mohammed making great impressions and the new goal scoring sensation Junior Lokosa making news headlines week-in, week-out...with now 21 goals and three more to break the all time NPFL highest goal scorer record held by Mfom Udoh of Enyimba since 2005.

As a result Kano Pillars enjoyed 15% of the total NPFL games broadcadted by Supersports in the last five years... Equaled only by Enyimba International fc of Aba.

Kano pillars replica jerseys, yellow and green home and away Adidas shirts has become a kind of identity for northern youths...from the streets of Kano to Kaduna, from Bauchi to Gombe, Sokoto to Zamfara youths make the shirts their favorite wear...as a means of solidarity and association with the club.

Kano Pillars also has a lot of following social media..has over 1.8m views on Youtube, over 710k likes on facebook, over 500k followers on twitter and over 250k on Instragram...making it the most followed club in Nigeria on social media.

With all these stats, you only but wonder why Kano pillars doesn't currently have a Shirt Sponsorship deal, no royality from Adidas or Endorsement of it's star players by corporate brands. Minimal advertisement revenue from billboards and inner stadium sideboards... The fact is, Kano Pillars forfeit a lot of financial revenues due to the lack of business structures and commercial orientation. This is what we expect Dangote to bring to the table if he invest and own majority shares in the club.