The Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Davidson Owumi, has warned clubs participating in the top flight to establish and maintain functional websites or risk losing their operating licences.
Owumi issued the warning in Enugu during a seminar for club Media Officers, Media Directors and Marketing Officers titled ‘NPFL/Afrinvest Marketing Investments, Brand Merchandising and Media’, organised by the NPFL in partnership with Afrinvest.
Functional Websites Now A Licensing Requirement
The NPFL executive said clubs that fail to operate functional websites could face licensing sanctions, insisting that every club must strengthen its digital presence.
He noted that the lack of reliable and verifiable information from the league’s 20 clubs remains a major challenge in attracting corporate sponsors.
According to Owumi, the absence of credible online platforms and poor digital communication are costing both the league and its clubs millions of naira in potential sponsorship deals that could be channelled into football development.
“This is as a result of inadequate, inconsistent, epileptic and, in some cases, the complete absence of verifiable data from participating clubs that lack functional websites and adequate social media presence,” Owumi lamented.
Clubs Face Possible Licence Withdrawal
Owumi disclosed that the NPFL would begin enforcing stricter compliance measures to ensure clubs meet the league’s communication standards.
He stated that any club, whether newly promoted or already competing in the NPFL, that fails to establish, maintain or operate a functional website would not be issued a club licence and could also have its existing licence revoked.
Call For Better Funding Of Media Units
The NPFL COO also appealed to club management to invest more resources in their media departments.
“Club administrators should up their game and make adequate adjustments by properly funding their media departments,” he said.
“Without adequate funding and consistent training of media personnel, the media departments will not perform optimally. They will only perform below average.
“The media department is the eye through which the public sees the club. Hence, any club without a credible and effective media department is ‘useless’ and ‘dead’ in the public space.
“This is because it is the media that projects the club and brings it into the limelight. Ideally, a professionally run media department should have five or six personnel handling clearly defined responsibilities.
“Professionally, clubs should have the following personnel in their media departments: Director of Media, Still Photographer, Graphic Designer, News Editor, Social Media Manager, Content Creator and Videographer.”
Owumi Faults Current Media Structure
Owumi further criticised the operational structure of many NPFL clubs, saying most of them fall short of professional standards by assigning multiple media responsibilities to one individual.
He observed that in many clubs, a single staff member is expected to take photographs, conduct interviews, write reports, manage social media accounts, record videos and design graphics.
“This is an unprofessional, unproductive and counter-effective approach to sports journalism,” he concluded.
