Former Sports Minister, Chief Sunday Akinlabi Dare has provided a startling revelation that explains why Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote is not investing in the country’s football sector.
Sports247 gathered that Dangote, who is a shareholder at Arsenal FC of England, has several business ventures – cutting across oil, cement, sugar, etc. – but he neither owns a Nigerian football club nor runs a related venture.
Chief Dare has now blown the lid off reasons behind Dangote’s decision, which the former minister said is basically because the shrewd business mogul wants to make a profit from any investment, he puts his money into.
Dare, who is now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s senior adviser on media and public communication, pointed out during a parley with sports writers at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne that profit is hard to find in the current setting of Nigerian football.
“How many of our clubs have a business policy model?” Dare inquired, “When we say sports is business, it means we should organise our teams to make a profit; but we don’t get that in Nigeria.
“When I spoke to Dangote about investing in football, he said he loves sports, but he’s a businessman. So, if he puts N100bn into football, what will it fetch him?
“He told me, ‘If it’s cement, I know what it will fetch me; but I can’t say that about football.’ I listened to him, and I agreed with him.”
The former minister then went on to explain what it entails to run football properly as a business venture, and he outlined various factors that have to be taken into consideration.
“To be involved in the real business of football, we must look at several financial issues quite critically. Among them are interest regime, risk of loss, profit margin, and financial regulation.
“So, before a businessman puts his money into any venture, he will first calculate loss and gain to see the profit margin. Sad to say, there’s nothing like that in Nigeria’s football.
“It’s like money going down a hole. There’s a lot of money that people have sunk into it without getting anything in return,” Dare pointed out.
He concluded by highlighting some of the negative factors that make football investment unpopular and risky in Nigeria, hence the absence of a highly resourceful personality like Dangote from the sector, though he owns shares at Arsenal of England.
“There are no guarantees for profit from investment, and there’s no insurance to fall back on. Yes, we love football, but we are not doing it right.
“For us to do it the right way, we must be ready to do the hard work required. We must provide enough incentives and enabling environment – then we’ll get there,” Dare submitted.
