NPFL Issues Website Licence Warning to Clubs
Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi has warned all member clubs that they must create and maintain functional websites or face the loss of their operating licences. The warning was delivered during a seminar and workshop in Enugu for club Media Officers, Media Directors and Marketing Officers, organised jointly by the NPFL and Afrinvest under the theme “NPFL/Afrinvest Marketing Investments, Brand Merchandising and Media”.
Owumi pointed out that the lack of credible, verifiable information from the league’s 20 clubs remains a major obstacle to attracting sponsorship deals. He said weak online visibility and the absence of reliable digital platforms have cost both the league and its clubs millions of naira in potential revenue.
“This stems from inadequate, inconsistent, epileptic or, in some cases, completely missing data from clubs that do not have functional websites or a proper social‑media presence,” Owumi lamented.
Stricter Licencing Enforcement Announced
The NPFL will begin enforcing stricter licensing requirements to ensure clubs meet the league’s standards. Any club — whether newly promoted or already established in the top flight — that fails to establish, maintain or operate a functional website will not be issued a club licence and could also have an existing licence withdrawn.
Call for Stronger Media Departments
Beyond digital infrastructure, Owumi urged club owners and administrators to invest more in their media departments, stressing that effective communication is essential for 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.”
He described the media department as the eye through which the public sees the club, adding that any club lacking a credible and effective media department is “useless” and “dead” in the public space because it is the media that projects the club into the limelight.
Ideally, a professionally run media department should comprise five or six personnel with clearly defined responsibilities: Director of Media, Still Photographer, Graphic Designer, News Editor, Social Media Manager, Content Creator and Videographer.
Owumi criticised the current structure 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. He labelled this approach “unprofessional, unproductive and counter‑effective” for sports journalism.
