Sponsorship of the Nigeria Football Federation

Sponsorships are becoming one of the most important sources of income in football for federations, clubs, leagues, and professionals. According to an IEG report, the sponsorship agreement brings approximately €65 billion annually, which will keep increasing yearly. One of the reasons for this growth is the audience's fragmentation in the modern audiovisual landscape and the reduced value of traditional marketing, amongst other reasons.

In Nigeria, many companies have partnered with the NFF. We've curated everything you need about the leading football sponsors in Nigeria.

Football Sponsorship in other Countries

While most of this article is on what Nigeria is doing, several other nations are putting in the work as far as sponsorship is concerned. They are working with online gaming sites that are now an undeniable force. In Canada, online casinos that want to get involved in football and other games are invited to look at the existing club structures and state where their money would be best utilized. Their involvement resonates well with their users, who are mainly curious about real games as they can wager for 5 dollars on the day’s matches. Some of the top $5 minimum deposit casino Canada that Canadians love include CasiGo, Spin Samurai, Captain Cook, RiverBelle, and Johnny Jackpot. These sites have impressive welcome bonuses, a wide variety of payment methods, numerous games, and more.

Another country where gambling takes an active part in football sponsorship is England. It has been reported that at least three Premier League Clubs have entered the agreements with betting operators for the 22-23 season. Everton announced the record income with the platform Stake.com in June. Bournemouth made a deal with a global betting brand Dafabet in June. A famous platform W88 has announced the sponsorship with Fulham Football club. Nearly half of the British football teams are known to be supported by gambling industry.

Austrian-based gambling and gaming company Bwin Interactive entertainment is known for sponsoring such iconic teams as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and many other teams in Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Portugal.

Danish Superliga clubs are known to be sponsored by Unibet.

The German Bundesliga is also known to welcome gambling companies into their sponsorship deals. Betway and Tipico are among the most active companies in this sector.

Why is sponsorship particularly important? Running sports clubs is quite expensive, and revenues from merchandise can only take you so far. When sites such as Captain Cook Casino Canada get involved, they raise the attention of a club and its activities to their gamers. They create a whole new category of fans that will buy merchandise, attend matches, and place 5-dollar- and -above bets on games these clubs will play. The more sponsors are involved in sporting activities, the better the club's chance to grow.

Bitnob Technologies Inc
 

Bitnob agreed on a multi-year deal with the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL). The League Management Company (LMC) manages the NPFL. The management company is a reliable body that is always striving to find the best football sponsors in Nigeria, such as Nigerian breweries.

According to Bitnob's CEO Bernard Parah, the sponsorship agreement will help reach the individuals who need the solutions of the sponsor of the Nigerian football federation in wealth and business creation and also offer the firm the chance to grow the domestic league. The deal takes the football sponsors to the people who need their solutions and helps them work with the NPFL to take the league to a better position.

Bitcoin, like soccer, is about oneness, hope, and freedom. The Nigeria professional football league sponsor is excited to make this happen to showcase possibilities and inspire hope in Nigeria's national football.

Bitnob has positioned itself as a firm and a trailblazer aiming to leverage Bitcoin to offer daily solutions. The company is always willing to break barriers on the official website and not let anything limit them. After agreeing to the deal, LMC's chairman Shehu Dikko said the sponsorship deal was a marriage of technology and football, which is vital to the next football phase.

Bet9ja

Bet9ja is one of the leading sportsbooks in Nigeria. On December 16, 2021, the betting site announced partnering with NPFL.

Bet9ja initiated this sponsorship deal because of the attention and interest the NFF was generating on the bookie's website. The bookmaker has stated that the deal is a chance for them to get involved and help enhance NPFL's platform structurally and financially.

At the event, Bet9ja's Head of marketing and corporate communications, Femi Osobajo, although they're the most significant bookie in Nigeria, most activities that happen on the site are from foreign leagues. He said that the league management deserves all the support, which is why they are offering their support. The hope is the deal will bring more opportunities and give a platform for the league to get massive publicity. After the pact, Bet9ja became the official partner of the league management.

MTN

The partnership allows MTN to serve as the communication ally of the Nigeria national team. The NFF has been aggressively campaigning to become financially independent, which has led to selling some of the brands to the nation's leading corporate players. Currently, the brand is more prominent than national teams after agreeing on a three-year deal.

The unveiling event took place in Lagos. Several dignitaries attended it, including Sunday Dare, the youth and sports development minister, MTN's top officials, and other officials in the national teams. The deal was worth 500 million naira each year, with several possibilities and opportunities.

According to Dare, the pact is a marriage of the sports king and telecom king. FIFA council member, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, praised MTN for its doggedness, patience, and forthrightness during the sponsorship agreement process

Premier Lotto Limited

Also known as Baba Ijebu, Premier Lotto formally sealed a deal to become the official bet sponsor of the Nigerian national football teams on September 13, 2021. The contract will last four years.

Pinnick, the NFF president, said they were excited to seal the deal with the provider. He said they were satisfied with the company's checks and processes to ensure credibility, integrity, sustainability, and diligence.

The bookie has been around for over two decades and has a reputation for fast payments of wins and colossal credibility.

Most corporations and businesses are ready to invest in sectors with potential and history. The soccer game is one of those areas that is attracting big corporations in 2022. But what are the benefits and cons of having football gambling sponsors pumping money into the beautiful game through sports partnership deals? One advantage of allowing partners is that they help raise the game's standards. However, since most sponsors are gambling companies, the arrangements will likely influence teenagers to start gambling.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola partnered with the Nigeria Football Federation to sponsor the Nigerian National Football teams. NFF is responsible for organizing, developing, and governing football in the country and all Nigerian football teams, including the senior men's team, super eagles, under 23s, under 15s, the national women's team, etc.

Coca-Cola has been one of the longest FIFA world cup partners. It takes the FIFA world cup on tour across the globe and is still one of the partners in 2022.

The sponsor of the Nigeria federation has always been at the frontline of corporate support globally and in the country. For instance, it funds the Under-15 secondary school national tournament annually. The winning teams get scholarships and deals to attend the best soccer camps abroad.

The NFF and Coca-Cola partnership will last five years, after which both parties will discuss a chance for renewal.

Summary

These are just some of the few sponsors in Nigeria in 2022. Other companies such as Nigerian Breweries Plc (NB Plc) have also signed lucrative deals with NFF. These deals are great for the national teams and other sports partners in the country because athletes don't need to worry about their pockets running dry. Teams are also able to train, book hotels, and travel without difficulties. When money is in the game, upcoming stars will be highly motivated to train harder and achieve big things. The senior team can also perform well in tournaments such as the FIFA world cup.