NPFL Warns Clubs Over Website Compliance, Threatens Licence Revocation
Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi has warned clubs that they must create and maintain functional websites or risk losing their licences, as the league steps up efforts to improve professionalism and attract commercial partners.
Owumi issued the warning in Enugu during a seminar and workshop 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.
The NPFL executive described the poor availability of credible and verifiable information from the league’s 20 clubs as one of the biggest obstacles to securing sponsorship deals.
According to him, the absence of reliable digital platforms and weak online visibility have cost both the league and its clubs millions of naira in potential sponsorship revenue.
“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.
He disclosed that the league would begin enforcing stricter licensing requirements to ensure clubs comply with its standards.
Owumi said any club, whether newly promoted or already playing in the top flight, that fails to establish, maintain or operate a functional website would not be issued a club licence and could also have an existing licence withdrawn.
Beyond digital infrastructure, Owumi urged club owners and administrators to invest more in their media departments, insisting that effective communication is essential to building strong club brands.
“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 also criticised the current structure of media operations at many NPFL clubs, noting that a single individual is often expected to handle photography, interviews, report writing, social media management, video production and graphic design.
Describing the arrangement as unsustainable, he said: “This is an unprofessional, unproductive and counter‑effective approach to sports journalism.”
