SuperSport, LMC seal N5.4b broadcast deal

SuperSport of South Africa and the League Management Company of Nigeria have agreed to a four-year broadcast sponsorship deal with a cumulative worth of $34 million (about N5.4 billion) for the Nigeria Professional Football League.
The deal, which was announced at a joint press briefing in Abuja, will commence from the 2015 season though it is said to have been structured to take care of developmental imperatives of the League beginning from this season.
In attendance were the Minister for Sports, Hon. Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi; the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Aminu Maigari; the Country General Manager of SuperSport, Felix Awogu; the Chairman of the LMC, Hon. Nduka Irabor; and some of his members, including Shehu Dikko, Seyi Akinwumi and Mike Enahoro.
According to the deal, SuperSport, Africa’s leading television sports channel, will broadcast live matches and highlights of the Nigeria Professional Football League to its audience that spans the African continent.
The LMC officials said the deal has been tailored to also take care of the wider population of football followers in Nigeria, who have access to only free-to-air television as terrestrial stations can structure collaborations with SuperSport than will enable them rebroadcast signals from live matches.
According to Irabor: “The broadcast sponsorship represents another major boost for the actualization of LMC’s mandate to exploit the commercial assets of the NPFL to the maximum benefit of the clubs and other stakeholders.
“It also represents another step towards achieving some of the developmental benchmarks set for transformation of Professional League Clubs to attain higher standards of operation as major drivers of youth empowerment and talent development at all levels.”
Speaking on behalf of SuperSport, Awogu reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the development of football in Nigeria, using the League as a platform.
He challenged clubs to rise to the challenge of the improved league and also optimise the opportunities to attract sponsorship.
SuperSport has thus become the second major sponsorship acquired by the LMC since it began operations as the organiser of the NPFL.
The title sponsorship rights was granted Globacom earlier in the year.