Blueprint For A More Attractive And Commercially Viable Nigeria Professional Football League

By 2025, Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) will be the very best in Africa and comparable to some of the top football leagues in Europe - This is a vision statement really!

Perhaps, you may want to ask "How can this be?"

First, let us establish what's the right parameter for measuring the success of a sport enterprise like NPFL?
Of course, like any other enterprise, the success can either be measured by the number of people that consume and use their product or how profitable the enterprise has become in-terms of generating revenues in excess after scaling off expenses.

In both parameters, NPFL seems to be struggling badly. In fact, if not for government spoon feeding  the enterprise would have long "Kaput" (died a natural or self destructive death).

The Trouble with NPFL?
Today, teams are playing in stadiums at less than one third capacity (with an average of 3000 attendance), NPFL ticket sales were only about N30 million last season 2018, Shirt Sponsorship and licensing merchandise sales were almost non-existent, television rightholders coverage was limited by Supersports broadcasting only one live match per week and viewership was as low, less than a million.

Corporate sponsors were scared off, in large part because of a poor public image resulting from corruption scandals, double standard dealing that doesn't respect contracts; home win syndrome....match fixing, hooliganism may have bedeviled the league.

What Can Be Done to Transform NPFL?
However, it isn't rocket science to bring NPFL back in tune... to become the very best in Africa. As they say, success is not an accident, if you do what a successful person or enterprise did, in the same circumstances, you or your enterprise will become successful too.  It simply means to understudy some of the world's most successful sport enterprises and go ahead to apply their playbook.

1. Visionary Leadership, Driving Clear Strategies for Change
What's required is a consistent marketing minded leadership, with a clear vision and a plan - is a necessity in today's competitive environment. For League Management Company (LMC) incharge of NPFL, Club owners, team managers, absence of this type of leadership is a sure ticket to disaster!

I am a strong supporter of LMC Chief Executive, Shehu Dikko, I think he possesses most of these attributes and I also think he is the right man for job at this moment. But Dikko and his LMC must have a vision and a plan clear to all the stakeholders. Vision such as the one stated in the opening statement of this blueprint.

Not trying to reinvent the will, LMC can look at the English Premier League (PL), National Basketball Association (NBA) or Nike... These sport enterprises became world industry leaders having clear strategies to develop and position their products in the marketplace to exceed consumers needs and expectations. LMC can easily adopt their playbook with only necessary adjustments.

Dikko should lay foundation for NPFL to become the most successful brand name in African sports. He canachieve this by recongnizing and utilizing standard marketing tools.

2. Establish A More Stable Product with Cleaner Image:
LMC must set out a clear strategy to launder the image of NPFL... to stop the corruption and home win syndrome (to win at all cost mentality) that is killing the league. That means getting club owners and players to understand and agree on several fundermental issues - including tougher punishments for offenders, improved revenue sharing and players welfare (Improve Remuneration package) among other things. Every good business leader knows that he has to get the product right before marketing.

Improve players reremuneration and other welfare packages will create a kind of job security; attract better players to the league as well as get even star players to remain longer in the league, if they cannot find better deals abroad.

3. A More Robust Television and Social Media Packaging
Among other things the league must constantly be at the front of the consumers' mind.  This requires a more expansive television and social media packaging.

The television package should be robust enough to get coverage for at least three quarter, if all the NPFL matches. Then, different tv programing such as Match of the week, Weekly Round up, Preview, Pre and Post match interviews....should be delibrately initiated to keep consumers attention and interest on the league.

LMC should rank the tv rightholders to include not only pay-per-view digital tv stations, but also free-to-air analogue stations too. Considering tthat over 62% households in Nigeria still watch analogue free-to-air TV option.

Moreover, there must also so be a well packaged social media promotions....match highlights on youtube, clubs are encourage to run active accounts on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat... We must understand that over 70% of football consumers spend most of their time on the internet via their mobile devices.

LMC must drive this. organizing social media marketing training for NPFL clubs media representatives from time to time.

4. Reform and Establish Respect for Contracts
As long as entering into commercial contract with LMC and any of the NPFL clubs remain complex and less transparent, most corporate sponsors and advertisers will be scared off.

LMC should reform their contract structure and systems to remove all the bottlenecks and make more transparent such gray areas.

A visionary leader would have to engage club owners and players regularly to get them to understand. the long term benefits of running a more attractive and more entertaining NPFL.  It require organizing regular congress seminars and orientation trainings etc.