Nigeria Premier Football League Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi has warned that clubs without functional websites could lose their licences as the league moves to enforce stricter club licensing regulations, theathleticng.com reports.
Owumi issued the warning during the NPFL-Afrinvest seminar on Marketing Investments, Brand Merchandising and Media held in Enugu.
Addressing club media officers, media directors and marketing officers from across the league, the NPFL chief said a strong digital presence has become a fundamental requirement for clubs seeking to meet modern professional standards.
He lamented the difficulty in accessing credible and verifiable information from many of the league’s 20 clubs, describing the situation as a major obstacle to attracting commercial partners and growing the competition.
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According to Owumi, the absence of functional club websites and inadequate digital communication structures has cost both the league and its clubs millions of naira in potential sponsorship revenue that could have been channelled into football development.
“This is as a result of inadequate, inconsistent, epileptic and, in some cases, the complete absence of verifiable data from participating clubs that lack functional websites and adequate social media presence,” Owumi said.
Owumi revealed that the NPFL is preparing to introduce enforceable measures to ensure every club complies with the league’s licensing requirements.
He stressed that clubs including newly promoted sides and those already competing in the topflight must create, maintain and operate functional websites or risk being denied licences.
The NPFL executive added that clubs which fail to meet the required standards could ultimately have their existing licences withdrawn as the league seeks to improve professionalism across all participating teams.
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Beyond digital infrastructure, Owumi urged club administrators to significantly improve funding for their media departments.
He argued that inadequate financial support and limited opportunities for continuous training have prevented many club media units from performing effectively.
“The media department is the eye through which the public sees the club,” he said.
According to Owumi, professionally run clubs should have dedicated personnel covering specialised roles rather than relying on a single individual to handle every responsibility.
He listed key positions including Director of Media, News Editor, Social Media Manager, Content Creator, Still Photographer, Graphic Designer and Videographer as essential components of a functional media department.
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Owumi expressed concern that many NPFL clubs still expect one media officer to perform multiple roles, ranging from photography and videography to conducting interviews, writing reports, producing graphics and managing social media platforms.
He described the practice as unprofessional, unproductive and counterproductive to the league’s ambitions of becoming a commercially attractive competition.
The NPFL COO insisted that the era of leniency is ending, warning that clubs must now meet the league’s licensing requirements or face sanctions as the governing body intensifies efforts to improve professional standards across Nigerian topflight football.
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