NPFL Names Experts for Afrinvest-Sponsored Pre-Season Commercial Workshop
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has unveiled an impressive list of resource persons for a pre-season workshop designed to strengthen the commercial and professional capacity of clubs ahead of the 2026/27 season.
The workshop, sponsored by leading financial and investment company Afrinvest, is scheduled to take place in Enugu on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, with all 20 NPFL clubs, including the newly promoted sides, expected to participate.
The programme will feature professional modules focused on marketing, investment, brand merchandising and media, as the NPFL continues its drive to improve the commercial viability of clubs and create additional revenue streams.
NPFL Chief Operating Officer Davidson Owumi said the workshop was part of the league’s efforts to help clubs reduce their dependence on government funding and attract greater private-sector investment.
‘While we recognise that the majority of our clubs are dependent on their respective state government funding, we also consider it beneficial to expand their revenue base,’ Owumi said.
‘The objectives include making our clubs attractive to private-sector investment through sponsorship, which will have a positive spin-off impact on the NPFL as a brand. Improved club management is the core attraction for fans and sponsors.’
Among the experts scheduled to speak at the workshop are Dr Iorwase Derek Kaka’an, George Isitua Onukwu, Mitchell Obi, Nelson Ine and Harry Iwuala.
Kaka’an is a sports management scholar, researcher, lecturer and football development practitioner with experience in sports administration, marketing, sponsorship and policy development. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education at Reverend Father Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi, Benue State.
Onukwu is the Chief Executive Officer of TBWA\Concept, where he is driving operational excellence and the agency’s ‘Beyond the Brief’ strategy, which focuses on technology integration, product development and owned intellectual property.
Obi serves as Executive Vice Chairman of Mastersports International Limited, a prominent Nigerian sports marketing and communications firm. He combines sports marketing campaigns with punditry and media production and is the immediate past president of the African chapter of the International Sports Press Association.
Ine, an experienced investment banking professional with GTI Asset Management, is regarded as the brain behind The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF), an open-ended, SEC-registered unit trust and mutual fund launched to raise ₦5 billion through five billion units priced at ₦1 each. The fund targets transforming Nigerian football into a profitable commercial asset.
Iwuala, who currently serves as Head of NPFL Media and Communications, plays a central role in the league’s media strategy and public relations. He has extensive experience in mainstream media and corporate communications, including a stint with Globacom, before moving into football administration.
The 2026/27 NPFL season is scheduled to kick off on August 28, 2026.
