Skip to main content

LMC confirms December 27 as start date for NPFL 2020/2021 Season

The League Management Company (LMC) has confirmed December 27 as the commencement date for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) 2020/2021 season.



The league organiser said the commencement date was arrived at after consultations with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the participating football clubs of the NPFL and Redstrike Media Group UK, the NPFL commercial rights holders and strategic commercial partners of the LMC.  


The Federal Government through the Federal Minister of Youth and Sports Development was also  briefed in this regard which included steps to be taken to ensure full compliance with the mandatory COVID-19 Protocols.


LMC said that the absolute need to ensure appropriate compliance with the clubs licensing regulations among other regulatory requirements resulted in the delay in commencing the league as envisaged. 


However, the LMC Chairman, Shehu Dikko said huge progress has been made especially in the areas of the infrastructure upgrade, noting that the  support of the NFF and the Minister of Youth and Sport Development has been critical in attaining this level of compliance. 


He further stated that, "In line with the core objectives of the LMC-Redstrike partnership, which is to repackage and reposition the NPFL as one of the best football leagues on all parameters, Redstrike Group has engaged a reputable and experienced production company from Europe, which will deploy state of the art facilities and other equipment for the television production of matches and activities of the NPFL to meet world class standards. 


He added that the production company will be working with other domestic agencies that has capacity to deliver media contents of NPFL activities. 


"This will enable the NPFL, in line with the best international benchmarks, to have full control of its content to be distributed, marketed and monetized across all platforms such as OTT, Mobile, Free to Air and Cable TV to ensure the widest coverage that can generate appropriate revenues to the NPFL".


"The detailed and impressive production preparations have seen the assembling and engagement of very many Nigerians, technicians and other highly skilled football industry professionals"


"These  preparations include the development of the NPFL.TV App, an OTT platform/channel for streaming the NPFL matches, which will also house all the apps of the individual NPFL clubs and provide the best possible fan engagement among others". 


The NPFL.TV app have since been made available for download on Google Play Store and will soon be on Apple Store. 


In a related development, participating clubs of NPFL have been assured of a robust  revenue distribution with the minimum guaranteed revenue/payment from the LMC-Redstrike Partnership to ensure commercial stability, operations, sustainability and success of the league. 


The LMC Chairman noted that the partnership "will also guarantee other stakeholders of NPFL, including match officials and services providers of a much improved and, or sustained indemnity and professional remuneration as part of the measures to improve standards across the football league industry value chain". 


Continuing, Dikko declared that "on  the back of the LMC-Redstrike partnership, the NPFL will now see the return of performance incentive payments to NPFL participating clubs such as, Basic Award (Guaranteed payments for participation), Technical/Performance Award (payments earned based on milestones achieved by clubs), Merit Award (Prize Monies distributed to clubs based on final position on the league table at the end of season) and Parachute Payments (to support clubs relegated from the NPFL in the previous season)".


This season, the LMC has proposed Prize monies for the top three finishing positions for the 2020/2021 season as N75m for the Winner, N50m for the first Runner Up and N35m for the Third paced team. Other Clubs will also earn prize monies based on final position on the league table.


The LMC says other programs and branding strategies to increase the excitement value of the league will be unveiled in due course. These includes, the return of bonuses to clubs for Away Wins, Away Draws, getting more than 5000 fans for home matches, featuring U-18 Youth Players, Stadium maintenance support etc.


"There's no doubt that exciting times lie ahead for all football lovers in Nigeria who have long yearned to have matches and activities of NPFL made readily available to them by streaming and broadcast on other platforms, including traditional TV", Dikko remarked.


He said the LMC is assuring millions of football fans in Nigeria that their patience will very soon be rewarded with a repackaged NPFL, whose exciting football matches and activities they can view and follow anytime and anywhere on the NPFL.TV Platform

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Showtime Flag Football Unveils Ambitious Plans for Nationwide Expansion

In the aftermath of the electrifying 2025 Showtime Bowl in Lagos, Azeez Amida, Chairman of Showtime Flag Football, has revealed immediate plans for a nationwide expansion of the league. The sold-out event, which marked the end of the season, drew fans, families, and sports enthusiasts from across the city and showcased the league's potential for growth. Azeez Amida, Chairman of Showtime Flag Football Amida announced plans to expand the league to six states by the end of 2026, signaling a new era for flag football in Nigeria. "We're expanding. By the end of next year, we aim to be in at least six states. The goal is to spread Showtime Flag Football across Nigeria and introduce more communities to this incredible sport," Amida said. Beyond geographic expansion, Amida shared his long-term vision: creating a viable professional pathway for aspiring flag football players within Nigeria. "We want our players to dream big to the point where they can say, 'I want to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Olajide Omotayo shines as Nigerians dominate men's singles

Olajide Omotayo gave an inkling of what he has in stock again at the 12th African Games as the Nigerian defeated one of the continent's most celebrated star - Egypt's Ahmed Saleh 4-3 in the quarterfinal of men's singles to berth in the semifinal of table tennis. A jubilant Olajide Omotayo Omotayo was all over the Egyptian in the encounter which had the fans glued to their seat throughout the match. The Nigerian combined his backhand with forehand smoothly and this confused the Egyptian who had to surrendered to the youthful Nigerian star. Aside Omotayo, Aruna Quadri also walloped Congo Brazzaville's Saheed Idowu 4-0 to berth in the last four and set up a rematch of the ITTF Africa Cup against Egypt's Omar Assar on Thursday August 29. Seven-time Olympian Segun Toriola was at his very best when he also beat Egypt's Khalid Assar 4-3 to set up a semifinal clash against Omotayo. In the women's event, Olufunke Oshonaike played her last game after going ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NFF CSO harass and bullies Canada based journalist Adewale Ajayi, destroys Camera

The Chief security officer of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Adejoh Francis went berserk on Monday at the team's hotel Le Ribadou in Garoua Cameroon, attacking renowned sports journalist Adewale Ajayi and a few other colleagues.  The arrogant and highly untrained official is renowned for harassing accredited journalists without recourse to individual reputation or societal standing.  Despite making frantic efforts to explain to him that he already secured permission from the media officer of the Super Eagles to speak with key members of the team, the CSO refused to bulge, throwing blows at the journalists and pushing them out of the teams camp.  A few persons around the team camp had earlier complained about the way he talks to journalists and mentioned one major instance where he attacked two Lagos based cameramen at the Super Eagles camp, threatening to destroy their cameras if they fail to leave the premises.  On Monday, at the Hotel Le Ribadou, Francis was again at ...
Post a Comment
Read more