Former Sports Minister and Presidential Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication Sunday Dare has hailed the transformation of the Nigeria Premier Football League, revealing that he personally backed Gbenga Elegbeleye to take charge of the domestic top flight and describing the league’s new $7.5 million sponsorship deal as evidence that the reforms are beginning to pay off.
Dare spoke at the unveiling of EUROMATCH as the new NPFL title sponsor, with the three-year agreement worth $2.5 million per season and $7.5 million in total.
“It is nice to be in the company of sports people,” Dare said, reflecting on the progress made by the domestic league.
“I pulled Gbenga Elegbeleye out to lead the NPFL, and that is the story today.”
Dare, who served as Minister of Youth and Sports Development before becoming Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, was instrumental in the restructuring of the domestic league that eventually produced Elegbeleye as chairman of the NPFL board.
Elegbeleye’s appointment followed his work as chairman of the Interim Management Committee that oversaw the rebirth of the league during the 2022/23 season. The NPFL itself credits the IMC with helping deliver a more organised and commercially attractive competition before Elegbeleye was appointed to lead the permanent league board.
Dare believes the progress recorded since then deserves recognition, particularly because the transformation has involved far more people than the league’s administrators.
“Big credit goes to the clubs, the management of the NFF and everybody who has been part of this,” he said.
The former minister stressed that no serious football nation can build a successful national team while allowing its domestic league to deteriorate.
“No country excels without taking care of the league,” Dare said.
His argument comes at a time when the NPFL is attracting renewed commercial attention, with EUROMATCH committing $2.5 million annually for three seasons in what has been described as one of the biggest sponsorship investments in the history of the domestic league.
The deal will see 60 per cent of the sponsorship revenue go directly to participating clubs, with NPFL chairman Elegbeleye saying the arrangement should translate into improved salaries and welfare for players.
Dare believes the investment could have a significant impact if properly channelled into the league.
“This sponsorship will serve in a good way,” he said.
The former minister has previously spoken proudly about his decision to bring Elegbeleye into the league reform process, saying the former National Sports Commission director-general was the obvious choice when the government was searching for someone capable of turning around the domestic competition.
“When we were searching for the person to turn around our league, the obvious choice was Elegbeleye, whose resume fitted our vision,” Dare previously said.
The reforms have coincided with signs of renewed interest in the NPFL, including increased stadium attendances and the return of prominent former Super Eagles players such as Brown Ideye and Ahmed Musa.
Elegbeleye has described the growth in stadium attendance as one of the clearest signs that the league is changing, saying clubs are now increasingly dealing with how to manage crowds rather than how to attract them.
NFF president Ibrahim Gusau also praised the new sponsorship, describing it as part of the federation’s wider efforts to improve the organisation and commercial value of the league.
“Since the inauguration of this board, they have been working assiduously to ensure that the league kicks off as and when due and that the indemnities of referees are paid as and when due, while increasing competition among clubs,” Gusau said.
The presence of Gusau, former Sports Minister Dare, Elegbeleye and former Super Eagles stars including Samson Siasia and Brown Ideye at the sponsorship unveiling underlined the growing push to make the NPFL a more commercially sustainable competition.
For Dare, however, the significance of the EUROMATCH deal goes beyond the money.
He sees it as a vindication of the decision to invest political and administrative energy into rebuilding the domestic league.
The former minister believes Nigeria’s football future will ultimately depend on the strength of its domestic competition, with a healthy NPFL capable of producing better-paid players, stronger clubs and a deeper pool of talent for the national teams.
And as the league enters a new commercial era backed by a $7.5 million sponsorship deal, Dare believes the decision to put Elegbeleye at the centre of the NPFL reform process is beginning to tell its own story.
