Why Nigeria football can’t attract sponsorship deals — Dare

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has said the bad image of Nigeria Football Federation as well as the organisers of the domestic league, League Management Company is largely responsible for the lack of sponsorship deals.

He stated that sponsorship deals are the “biggest hub of business” during his speech presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Football Federation in Edo recently.

“In the eyes of the Nigerian public, the perception that NFF and Nigerian football is corrupt is rife. I have had cause in the past to speak on how perception is everything and the perception around the NFF is not one that will court new partners and sponsors for the Federation.

“Even though many of the allegations have not been proven, the atmosphere around football is polluted on account of the negative perception of corruption and we must move quickly to sanitize this.

“We have gone from a football-loving nation to a nation that needlessly squabbles over football. We now showcase more of our disagreements and discordant tunes in football than the talents and skills that should be displayed in this game,” he noted.

Dare while giving kudos to the NFF hierarchy for bringing great initiatives to football administration, however regretted their non-implementation.

“This Board had brought great initiatives to football administration: sponsorships, a robust domestic league and a promising football atmosphere. But these have not been sustained even though they are sustainable.

“No country’s football can grow without a predictable and credible football calendar that is binding on everyone. The essence of having a football calendar is to ensure that the corporate world can plan with it. No blue-chip firm operates based on hunches. Everything is planned with dates and milestones,” he stated.