A suggestion has come forth that Nigeria needs a law that compels corporate bodies in the country to sponsor one football club or the other in the domestic league, Sports247 reports.
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This recommendation was provided by the coach of United Squad Football Academy of Kosofe, Lagos, Angel Ebiye Jombo, who reckoned it would help reduce issues of poor funding affecting clubs in the Nigerian league.
This suggestion was part of the points raised by Jombo during ‘Hot Seat’ segment of Inside Naija Sports, a live streaming programme on YouTube, from the studio of Sports247 Naija TV, starting at 11:45am every Friday.
Jombo pointed out: “The biggest issue affecting clubs in the Nigerian league is funding. It’s all about getting good money to operate effectively, and that would be possible if corporate bodies come in fully.”
He went further with a warning that lack of accountability and mismanagement of funds often make corporate bodies shy away from putting their money into clubs in the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL).
The member of Lagos State Football Coaches Association added, “Once the private sector comes in and they put money, things will change. However, most of our clubs cannot account for the funds they get from investors.
“They make it seem as if the sponsors are wasting their money or that they are doing it for charity without getting back anything. That’s a major reason why we don’t have football sponsors in Nigeria.
“So, our league clubs have to be accountable and use the funds well. Once there’s a clear and transparent system, people will come in to invest.”
He concluded with a view that the federal and state governments could provide tax wavers that would further encourage firms, companies and agencies to fund football clubs or even own them as they used to do in years gone by.
“Once there’s a clear and transparent system, people will come in to invest. Back in the days, almost every company and government agency had a team.
“I don’t know whether there was a policy to that effect, but we saw teams like NEPA, NITEL, Works, NIPOST, and many others like that. They played in the league, and their players were well paid.
“It was so because the clubs had money, and they spent it well. Such structures need to be revived. We need laws that will make it compulsory for companies to sponsor football clubs.
“Government should also reduce the taxes that they levy companies in order to encourage them to sponsor clubs and athletes,” Jombo submitted.
