NNL Seeks Sponsorship, Partnership Deals, Says Clubs Must Register With CAC

NNL Seeks Sponsorship, Partnership Deals, Says Clubs Must Register With CAC

By Taofeek LAWAL

The new board of the Nigeria National League (NNL) has said that it is not going to be business as usual for clubs that did not register with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as this will be the criteria for participation in the league.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of NNL, Mallam Sajo Mohammed, stated this while fielding questions on a television programme monitored by BSN Sports. Mohammed said as the most important league and heart of Nigerian football, the NNL should be run accordingly for the improvement of football development in the country.

According to the CEO, the NNL is ready to return the league to where it truly belongs because it has produced talents who have projected Nigeria to the world as a force to reckon with in football. This he said can be achieved through sponsorship and partnership with big and reputable companies. "We have a lot of things to do. For example, we want sponsorship and partnership with reputable companies and organizations. As soon as I resumed office, we were in Lagos trying to get sponsors and we got positive response. When I got back to Abuja, two big insurance companies came on their own requesting to partner with us and this is a good development.

With this, we'll ensure that all players from the clubs are insured in case of death, injury or what have you. It has not been like that in the past and this we want to bring on board," he said. Mohammed also stated registration of clubs with the CAC is key as it will allow the NNL to know which club is serious and ones that are not. He said legal perspective will be put into play as "this will make people to take us serious that we mean business. We will not be having clubs that are not registered because we don't know their capacity and this is our starting point."

He added, "we don't want clubs that are not viable, they are here today and tomorrow they will tell you they cannot honour matches, this will not happen again. What we are saying is that if you don't register with the CAC, there is no need for us doing any business with you. It is not going to be business as usual, we want to do things the right way." The NNL supremo said that states that are having more than one or two clubs in the league should harmonise them to ensure that such clubs can produce results and excel anywhere in the world. He assures that under the leadership of Senator Obinna Ogba, the new board is determined to bring back the glory of the NNL to soccer-loving Nigerians.