Amidst circulating reports suggesting a brewing conflict between the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL Club Owners and the league’s board over financial matters, secretary of the Club Owners Association, Godwin Enakhena have come forward to clarify the situation, platinumnewsng.com is reporting.
According to an exclusive report by The PUNCH, the club owners association,, despite rumours of a planned boycott for the upcoming match-day 30 games, has stated that discussions are ongoing to address various concerns, but denied the existence of any serious dispute that will stop matches from going on as planned.
Godwin who also is the Chairman of Sporting Lagos, played down the rumoured discord, stating there are ongoing negotiations with the NPFL board. The concerns raised by the clubs include the non-disclosure of details surrounding broadcast deals with StarTimes and Propel Sports, and the delivery of financial commitments pledged at the season’s outset. However, Enakhena statemen connotes a cooperative rather than confrontational approach to resolving these issues.
“We are having negotiations, we are talking, but there are no complaints or problems,” Godwin explained, pointing out the focus on other pressing matters such as the completion of outstanding matches. He acknowledged the economic challenges affecting various aspects of operations but reassured that there is a strong commitment from the teams to concluding the league as scheduled, with just nine games remaining.
At the commencement of the season in September last year, GTI, a strategic partner of the NPFL, announced an increase in the league’s prize money from N100 million to N150 million, alongside a N10 million take-off grant for the 20 participating clubs. Also, the NPFL secured a $5 million streaming contract with Propel Sports and a five-season deal worth N5.9 billion with StarTimes for the broadcast of league games.