NPFL: Where is the money coming from? — Nigerians grill NSC over N2.5bn propos

From bigger prize money to stricter club licensing and a push to return the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, to television, the plans have generated plenty of excitement - but also one big question: where will the money come from?

The proposals emerged after a strategic meeting in Abuja between the NSC and the Nigeria Football Federation, where officials said the aim was to secure the future of Nigerian football and lay the foundations for long-term growth.

At the centre of the new plans is a dramatic financial reset that has left Nigerians with more questions than answers.

According to Dikko, prize money for the 2026/27 NPFL season could rise significantly, with the champions set to pocket at least N1 billion, while second and third place could earn N500 million and N300 million respectively.

Graduated prize money is also expected to be introduced, in a move officials believe will raise standards and drive professionalism across the league.

“We have agreed to put structures in place that will ensure that the least a player will earn in the league going forward is N2 million,” Dikko said.

“This salary cap may not happen this coming season but in subsequent seasons, that should be the target.”

He also linked the reforms to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope and Shared Prosperity agenda, insisting the government is ready to intervene directly to reset the league.

“What we are doing is in tandem with the Renewed Hope and Shared Prosperity disposition of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR,” he said. “We are only his foot soldiers.”

Another major talking point is the clampdown on club licensing. Dikko said the league must become stricter about basic standards, even if that means fewer teams are approved to compete.

“The league is the foundation of our football,” he said. “If there are only ten clubs that are qualified to play in the league, so be it.”

The NSC also wants the NPFL back on television, with budget support promised for production and broadcast.

Dikko argued that better control of content would improve the product and make it more attractive to broadcasters and sponsors. For many observers, that may be the most important part of the reform package, because visibility has long been one of the league’s biggest weaknesses.

But online reaction quickly turned to doubt. One fan asked, “Where will the money come from abi na another lamba?”

Another wrote, “I love this but I hope say no be audio money.” Others focused on accountability, with one post saying, “Not to put up the prizes, the main concern is will they pay them or end up owing as usual.”

There was also criticism of the league’s image and administration. “If they don’t change this trophy and get proper medals and not that panda they give winners they are not ready,” one reaction read. Another user summed up the mood bluntly: “That’s just on paper. We know the country we live in.”

For now, the proposals have done what reform plans often do in Nigerian football: spark big promises, bigger hopes and immediate suspicion.

The coming months will determine whether the NSC’s blueprint becomes a genuine turning point for the NPFL, or just another ambitious announcement that struggles to survive contact with reality.

The meeting was led by NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko, NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, league representative Nasiru Saidu and former NFF General Secretary Bar. Musa Amadu.