The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) is on the verge of securing a new title sponsor ahead of the 2026/27 season, with Chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye confirming that negotiations have reached an advanced stage.
Speaking during a media briefing in Glasgow, Scotland, Elegbeleye said the league expects to conclude discussions and announce the partnership before the NPFL Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 7 in Ibadan, Oyo State.
According to Elegbeleye, the proposed agreement is valued at more than $7.5 million over three years, although the deal has yet to be formally concluded.
“We are in the final stages of the negotiations. We are working to ensure that all the necessary details are properly concluded before the announcement,” he said.
He added that the prospective partner is expected to support the league’s commercial growth and digital strategy as the NPFL seeks to strengthen its online presence and expand fan engagement through improved digital content and social media initiatives.
Elegbeleye also disclosed that the league has opened discussions with prominent Nigerian entertainers as part of efforts to broaden its appeal to younger audiences. He said the NPFL plans to establish a dedicated digital media unit comprising sports journalists, content creators and other media professionals to enhance coverage of the domestic league.
The commercial push comes as the NPFL maintains its commitment to an August-to-May football calendar. The 2026/27 season is scheduled to kick off on the weekend of August 28–30 and conclude on May 30, 2027, following 38 matchdays.
The sponsorship negotiations follow a pre-season commercial development workshop organised by the NPFL in partnership with Afrinvest in Enugu on July 29, where marketing and media officers from the league’s 20 clubs received training in brand marketing, merchandising and media strategy.
NPFL Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi said the initiative was designed to help clubs become more attractive to corporate investors by strengthening their commercial operations.
Owumi cited Rangers International’s two-year ₦200 million sleeve sponsorship agreement with Nortra Tractors as an example of the growing commercial opportunities available within the domestic league.
Separately, the Nigeria Football Fund, an SEC-registered open-ended unit trust focused on football-related investments, is targeting ₦5 billion from investors to finance football infrastructure and other commercially viable assets within Nigeria’s football ecosystem.
