Nigeria League Gets $34Million TV Deal

Nigeria's Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi

The League Management Company (LMC) Limited has reached a television rights deal worth $34 million with South African group of television channels, SuperSport.

LMC, which is in charge of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), announced the deal on its twitter handle, @LMCNPFL. It said the TV rights deal is expected to take off from 2015 and run for four years.

LMC Chairman Nduka Irabor, while unfolding the package in Abuja on Monday, said that though the deal takes effect in two years’ time, there is an agreement for some funds to be released from this year.

“It is important here to add a sweetener. They are willing to add some of these monies in advance. So for every year starting from this year, they will give us two million dollars in advance, that’s about 320 million naira ($1.9 million). We can rule the league very well now.”

Under the broadcast agreement, South Africa-based Supersports will televise six matches from the Nigeria domestic league each week. The frequency of the broadcast is expected to graduate every year into the contract.

“We are have now secured a steady cash flow and in a good position to run the league and help the clubs in meeting their obligations,” Irabor said.

“The broadcast rights deal will have a multiplier effects on our football as five million Nigerians will watch our domestic league matches on television. In the long run, our desire is that the Nigerian league will attract the same enthusiasm in the same latitude as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga.”
- BusinessDay