NPFL Next: How the New Elite Players Project and the Academy System Can Impact On the League

 

Witten by Benson Chukwueke, a Sport Marketing Consultant and CEO, GreenHuntets Sports International

Nigeria Professional Football League has really evolved over the last couple of years. There are quality players coming out of the league that are going on to represent the best clubs in the world. Yet teams in the league aren't strong enough to compete favorably in the continent, but are merely thought of as a “feeder league” by bigger teams in North and South Africa. 

The academy system are bypassing NPFL to transfer some exciting new talents direct to Europe without going through the ranks. There are several scouting programs that goes on across the country yearly, foreign scouts coming to cart away these raw talents. 

The success of the Golden Eaglets, the Nigerian U17 national teams, has opened doors for players like Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Osimhen, John Mikel Obi to launch into top flight football in Europe without playing in the local league. 

However, Players like Ahmed Musa, Vincent Enyema, Emmanuel Amunike, Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Jay Jay Okocha have proven that Nigerian players have the potential to make a name for themselves in Europe and play for any team that they set their mind to, showing the ability of NPFL to continually produce top class talents into the world of football.

Financing 

The financial capacity of the teams and the administrative structure of the league should improve. League Management Company should continue to work on improving quality of the league and make it more appealing to millions of fans in Nigeria and the rest of the world. 

As government are getting ready to hands off the funding of teams in Nigeria, it becomes the case of which comes first, the egg or the chicken, in commercialization of football in Nigeria

How can LMC get  Alico Dangote, Orji Uzor Kalu, Kessington Adegbite, Kunle Soname, Obi Cubana to make huge investments to improve the capacity of the teams in Nigeria. 

NPFL Next

First, the administrative structure must change to take a commercial outlook. The stars of the game should behind made to remain in the league. The standard as well as the quality of football must improve to a large extent. 

This can be achieved in the next couple of years through the new Elite Players project and a well established academy system.  We should borrow a leaf from both the Chinese Super League Elite Players Project and Netherlands academy systems to grow and improve the commercial quality of NPFL. 

Elite Players Project

Gone are the days when players out of contract in Europe find it difficult to associate or return to play in NPFL. LMC New elite players project are looking out for such players to offer them unique contracts. Bringing in such players with top flight football experience in Europe, will great improve the quality of NPFL. 

Elite Players Project has been designed to increase and deepen players-experience pool of the league, bolster the morale and confidence of younger players in the NPFL, project the image of the league as a welcoming and conducive playing environment for the return of Nigeria’s finest crop of international professional footballers and boost the mass appeal of the league for commercialization.

 We cannot deny the fact that players like Sani Kaita return to Enyimba, Ahmed Musa return to Kano Pillars, Dele Aiyengba return to Kwara United, have helped in creating excitement and booster the image of the League in the past seasons.

We can also welcome and encourage our ex-internationals like Finidi George, Emmanuel Amunike, Samson Siasia, Daniel Amokachi, Mutiu Adepoju, Sunday Oliseh to look away from National team appointments and take up coaching jobs in NPFL, with unique contracts. 

Academy System

However, the only way to see NPFL as a serious talent producing league is by investing in youth. LMC encouage NPFL teams to focus in building serious youth or feeders team. Alternatively, to build affiliations with some of the top academies in the country.

NPFL Homegrown players will provide the first steps for actually crafting a playing culture instead of just finding and honing guys of Nigerian decent scattered across the world. Nigerians have a way they play their football and expect our national teams to promote our style of play to the football world. 

Improving the training facilities across the league, a robust system is starting to appear in different teams to continually develop players with first-team potential. The flow from grassroots all the way through to the first team systems has been the blueprint that should now be expanding via the NPFL Next.