NPFL Warns Clubs Over Website Compliance
Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi has issued a stern warning to all clubs: create and maintain a functional website or risk losing your operating licence. The statement was made during a seminar and workshop in Enugu for club Media Officers, Media Directors and Marketing Officers, organised jointly by the NPFL and Afrinvest.
Owumi highlighted that the lack of credible, verifiable information from the league’s 20 clubs remains a major barrier to securing sponsorship deals. He noted that weak online visibility and absent digital platforms have already cost the league and its clubs millions of naira in potential revenue.
“This problem stems from inadequate, inconsistent, epileptic, or completely missing data from clubs that do not have functional websites or a strong social‑media presence,” Owumi lamented.
To address the issue, the NPFL will begin enforcing stricter licensing criteria. Any club — whether newly promoted or already established in the top flight — that fails to establish, maintain, or operate a working website will not be issued a licence, and existing licences may be withdrawn.
Investmention>Strengthening Media Departments
Beyond digital infrastructure, Owumi urged club owners and administrators to allocate more resources to their media departments. He stressed that effective communication is essential for building strong club brands and attracting commercial partners.
“Club administrators must up their game and properly fund their media units,” he said. “Without adequate funding and consistent training, media teams will perform below average.”
He described the media department as the eye through which the public views the club. A club lacking a credible and effective media presence is, in his words, “useless” and “dead” in the public sphere.
Owumi outlined the ideal composition of a professional media team: a Director of Media, Still Photographer, Graphic Designer, News Editor, Social Media Manager, Content Creator, and Videographer — ideally five to six personnel handling clearly defined responsibilities.
Critique of Current Media Practices
He also criticised the current setup at many NPFL clubs, where a single individual is often expected to handle photography, interviews, report writing, social media management, video production, and graphic design.
“This approach is unprofessional, unproductive, and counter‑effective for sports journalism,” Owumi remarked, calling it unsustainable.
