Olawale Ajimotokan  in Abuja

The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has signed a contract on exclusive data and commercial rights deal valued at ₦2.14 billion, over five-year with Inview Technologies Nigeria Limited, AS Production Hub Limited and Round-Up Technologies.

The Chairman NPFL, Gbenga Elegbeleye, said a revenue of N2billion per annual is projected from Inview and ASPH as broadcast and production partners of which N800 million is to be paid upfront. 

He said that 60 per cent of the revenue will be paid to the Nigeria Premier League clubs.

He further disclosed that contract with Round-Up Technologies is valued at N600 million including an additional ₦140 million annual payment for technical data processing of players, match statistics, analytics and league performance parameters. 

“We are determined to bring the league closer to fans through NPFL TV, so Nigerians everywhere can watch our matches but we don’t want to rely on welfare alone. We need to have money, and we need to support the clubs,“ Elegbeleye said.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, who attended the event, expressed his delight at the development, noting that the deal represents a major step toward restoring public access to domestic football coverage.

The CEO of Inview, Rajiv Mekaah, said Inview will be in charge of production of all league matches to be distributed on all major platforms, while members of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) will have access to the matches.

Inview, according to Mekaah will also manage the licensing of the content, saying any platform that is not licenced by it to broadcast content will be considered guilty of piracy.

Also, Disu Vera Cruz of Round Up Technology, described the project as an exciting task for the Nigerian production company. He assured stakeholders of the readiness of the company to empower broadcasters to seamlessly do their job through employment of data analytics in modern football development.

He noted that a detailed and accessible data would elevate the league’s value and enrich media coverage.

“Data is crucial to the growth of the game. With the right statistics, media houses can easily access information on players, coaches and clubs, just like in top leagues across the world. Proper data will improve the league, increase the profile of our players, raise the value of coaches, and enhance the credibility of clubs,” Vera-cruz said.

In his remarks, the President Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, said they brought the key partners together to enable all Nigerian homes to have opportunities of watching Nigerian Premier League matches.

Gusau also charged the federation to bring the league to par as the basis of Nigerian football, saying he was happy with the progress made in putting the league matches on television for fans to watch.

 “I am the happiest man today. Many people have been concerned that NPFL games were not on television, but we wanted to take our time to secure the best possible broadcast coverage. This agreement is part of our broader effort to reform and strengthen the league. As we receive feedback from Nigerians we act. We also crave more time from Nigerians to change the narrative of the Nigerian league,” Gusau said.

The Director General National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Charles Ebuebu, was the special guest of honour at the contract signing.