The second tier football league in the country, Nigeria National League (NNL) is expected to officially unveil its new sponsorship deal with Bet9ja soon.
The parties have also confirmed that details of the 3-year multi-million sponsorship deal will be provided during the signing ceremony later in the month
Recalled that the Nigeria Football Federation recently sealed a 5-year sponsorship deal worth NGN 2.5 billion with Aiteo, an Oil company, which covers all the national teams under the federation.
It should be noted that sponsorship is not an act of charity – it must show some form of positive return on investment (ROI). That is, the business must be able to get value for its investment. Hence, sponsorship is a business arrangement, standard evaluative criteria should be used to establish the suitability of the ‘event’ in relation to the sponsor.
Sponsorship ordinarily is the material support of an event, activity or organisation by an unrelated partner. It is a good way of increasing brand awareness, which helps to generate consumer preference and to foster brand loyalty. A company can reinforce awareness among its target market by sponsoring an event or organisation that attracts a similar target market.
No doubt, the deal is well relevant to both brands, but there are series of questions that may arise such as: Why is Bet9ja partnering the national league, why not the topflight league? Aside receiving financial benefits, the clubs will ride on the massive publicity of Bet9ja provided that both parties have agreed a set of common objectives to underpin the sponsorship. While we await the details, it is important to also state that the clubs have a lot to do regarding their own branding and positioning. How many of these clubs do Nigerians know? Well, some may say those who have interest know the clubs. You will be amazed that Nigerians know the teams in English lower divisions and other countries.
The League Management Company (LMC), a body responsible for running the Nigerian Professional Football League is ensuring that the books are set aright in terms of ownership and commercializing, the onus is on the National League management to also see to it that the clubs are properly run to drive more partnerships and scale.
Just recently the 3rd-tier division the Nationwide League One signed a NGN100 million broadcast deal with a local Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) service provider. The deal with PIPUL TV will see three sports channels that will broadcast three live games every week. We also look forward to seeing the NNL on television perhaps every weekend.
Meanwhile, NNL Chief Executive Officer, Honourable Bukola Olopade said that the deal with the gaming company will open the door for other possible partnerships.
“It is a done deal, we are happy about this development. We can now say it is a new League, it will now be known as BET9A Nigeria National League, Olopade said.
“We are indeed excited, this will catapult us to a higher pedestal, it is a good deal, this was a League with a zero percentage of property to hold on to.”
“We are not resting on our oars, however, in the next couple of weeks we hoping to have Startimes and an oil company come in, we are hoping for more, I can say there is a great future for the Nigeria National League,” he said.
