You may wonder how can I make money from the Nigerian League. Do not worry we are going to simplify everything especially if you are a club owner.
Running a football club anywhere in the world is an expensive venture be it a big or small club. In this blog post, we are going to focus on the possibility of making money by having a football club in Nigeria. Also, you have to bear in mind that the Administration of the league matters a lot in your quest to be a successful football club owner.
NPFL Administration
NPFL simply means the Nigeria Professional Football League. The NPFL has suffered a lot of setbacks due to the lack of determined administrators. People who are not interested in lifting the standard of the league are running the league aground. Let’s focus on the leagues in Africa- Zambian league, Ethiopian league, South African league, Congolese league, and Sudanese league. Aside from that of Sudan, I intentionally left out that of North Africa. These leagues have one thing in common- they are all on TV even with the imperfect stadium and playing pitches.
Let’s focus on Ethiopia, about two years ago (3 years now) I saw for the first in my life the Ethiopian league live on DSTV, and what surprised me the most was that a Nigerian company, BetKing, was the headline sponsor of that league. Ethiopia (with all due respect) does not have better sporting facilities than Nigeria. I can remember towards the end of 2013, Nigeria (home-based) were to play a friendly match against Ethiopia’s national team in preparation for the CHAN (Championship for African Nations- tournament for African-based players) in Abuja, the Ethiopian team came into the stadium and were wowed by what their eyes saw. It was so so wonderful.
Now, the question is, why are our administrators sleeping on a bicycle?
Why can’t they merge European leagues and homegrown solution ideas?
For instance, we once partnered with the German league, and I am yet to see any impact from that partnership with the Germans (no disrespect to the Germans). If I can recall, the only time I ever enjoyed watching the Nigerian league even to the extent of going to the stadium to see Abia Warriors Vs Enyimba was the 2013/2014 season. That was the only season Nigerians truly saw the league on TV. Every other thing you saw on TV is a patch- patch.
After that season what happened? LMC and NFF happened.
Finance
Hmm… Running a football club is one of the most difficult jobs on earth- worse off in Nigeria. However, to own a football club at any level in Nigeria is very capital-intensive and the truth of the matter is that if you are not careful enough, you will lose everything.
Anyway, to own a professional football club in Nigeria you will need at least a N2b financial war chest to start. This amount of money is enough to assist you to rent a stadium for a season or two, buying at least two luxury (luxurious) buses, setting up your club headquarters, having your clinch or partner with a good hospital, getting the necessary sporting gears for your club, partner with a media firm to broadcast your club’s activities to the world (except for live matches) and above all, pay salaries for up to 18 months before you start looking for money or sponsors.
The above lists should not demoralize you, rather they should motivate you to consider investing in the league.
Get a good management team
To run a football club you need sound management to oversee every aspect of the club. To make money from the Nigerian league is not child’s play so you need to put together an effective team; part of this team should include:
The executive vice chairman- Since you are the owner you will need someone whom you can trust his sense of judgment to manage the club to allow you to focus on other businesses you may have. Every other department and head of departments are answerable to him.
Director of Football- This position should be occupied by a knowledgeable ex-footballer. His job is in no way the same as the club vice chairman. His job is to focus on the welfare of the players, the coach’s style of play, and all the football teams that make up the football club.
Also, transfers, signings, loans, match records, and suggestions of coaches needed for the various teams fall under his purview. In addition to that, match analysis of opponents falls under him too, as his office is to get good match analysts for the team. In all, his office will have other sections under it and he is to oversee them.
Director of Media- This position is as important as the position of the chairman of the club. The occupant of this position handles the visibility of the club to the outside world. The media department of the club determines how popular a football club ought to be.
Director of Health- This office should be headed by a good sports doctor. Football has grown so big that any health mistake or taking the wrong medication can destroy a player’s career. Under this office should be nutritionists and psychologists, and other branches of health needed for the maintenance of the players and their health.
Director of Finance- Everything about the financial life of the club rests on the shoulder of this office and a good manager of finance should be hired to man this office. In addition, the businesses owned by the club, such as its shop, eatery, water production, bakery, etc fall under the purview of this office. That is why you need a business-oriented manager to head this department. This is because, his job is not just to count money and keep records, his job includes keeping the club alive (financially). All the managers under him ought to be knowledgeable according to their job prescriptions.
Director of Logistics- Football is all about traveling and so you need very good logistics personnel to manage this department. The players traveling documents for their internal and external travels fall under the purview of this office. Including their accommodations. Also, the uniform and other sporting gear manager is under the purview of this department.
Director of Secretariat- This is a very serious office. From managing the club’s headquarters to the stadium, to the club’s gym, and every other property owned by the club falls under the purview of this office. Also, the matchday ticket sales and security of fans and staff are the responsibility of the office and its occupant.
Marketing department- This office works closely with the media department. The job is to market everything about the club to would-be fans and investors.
Coach- This is the most visible office in the club. Getting the right coach for the club is not a one-man affair. The job of a coach is to get positive results.
Here is how to make money from the Nigerian League
We are done with the foundation of a football club, now let us focus on the money-making aspect. Every space in the club should be for money making.
Stadium- You can sell the stadium’s naming rights to any company.
Stands- In modern-day football, you can offer to sell the naming rights to companies who show interest
Coaching crew seats- The naming rights of this place are usually bought by car manufacturing companies. The good news is that Nigeria has up to 6 car-producing companies.
TV Screen- There are a lot of screen companies willing to buy the naming rights of where the TV screens are kept.
Score Screen- These days wrist watch companies are buying naming rights of score screens.
Goal-Posts side- This is another spot that companies will like to buy the rights to. In most cases, clubs give the name of pitches (field) to companies who buy the naming rights.
Training Kits- A lot of clubs have sponsors for their training kits
Club Headquarters- A lot of clubs sell the naming rights of their headquarters to interested companies.
Match Day Kits- This is the most visible naming rights. Companies jostle to have their brand names or logo on kits. This is because of the visibility associated with the spot.
Selling and loaning of players- This is the biggest source of income for a lot of football clubs. This angle brings in about 75% of a club’s earnings.
Ticket sales- This is a viable source of income, most especially if your club is doing well in the league, and also if you have a high sitting capacity.
TV Deals- Money coming from this angle comes through the league body. As the TV rights solely belong to the league body so money from the body is to support the club to continue playing good football.
Other businesses- The club also earns money from the other businesses it owns.
We have listed 13 sources of how to make money from the Nigerian League by a club. Out of these 13 sources, only one comes from outside (the league body). This means that it is the responsibility of the club’s management to keep it alive and not the government, the league body, or the club owner.
