NPFL Attends Inaugural World Leagues Forum

Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) was among the 24 leading Professional League organizations from across the world of football that met in London on Tuesday, April 28 for the first ever Global Leagues Forum.

 This historic meeting brought together Presidents, Chairmen, Chief Executives and General Secretaries from Professional Leagues that represent over 1100 of the world’s top Clubs. Professional Leagues from Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, UAE, USA, as well as the European Professional Football Leagues Association, were represented. Players of clubs in these leagues provided just under 90 per cent of the players who took part in the FIFA World Cup 2014.

In the NPFL delegation including Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko and Chief Executive Officer, Hon. Nduka Irabor, made a strong case for the redistribution of incomes derived by the developed Leagues from the Nigerian territory.

The discussion between the leaders of Professional League football was wide ranging and focused on strategies for the successful development of Professional League football in each of their countries. These focused on relationships with players and fans in particular, and Professional League business models. 

Dikko said he was very hopeful that some of the contacts made would soon begin to yield dividend particularly in the areas of human capacity development and technical overhaul of the game. 

"The LMC Is absolutely delighted to be part of this inaugural meeting as a pioneer member of the forum. This clearly signifies that the LMC is making huge progress and in the right direction to be so recognized on a global scale.

"The contacts made will surely impact positively on our efforts to improve on the fortune of the NPFL", Dikko said.

According to Renata Affonso, the Planning and Projects Manager of the Conference, it is recognized that whilst all Professional Leagues are different, the issues they face are the same as each looks to develop the professional game in their country. The World Leagues Forum thus provided a platform for sharing of experiences and approaches, with established Leagues committing to assisting developing Leagues across the world. 

The Leagues agree that wherever a common view on issues can be achieved, Leagues should speak with a single voice, as leading members of the global football family. A focus of the next meeting in the USA (19-20 October 2015) will be on formalizing a new way of working more closely together.