Welcome Speech by Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, Chairman of the Nigeria Premier League Board at the Inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on August 29 at the Sandralia Hotel, Jabi, Abuja
RECOGNITIONS
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau
NFF Board Members present with us
My Colleagues on the NPL Board
Our Participating NPFL Clubs
Other Stakeholders here present
Gentlemen of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is with utmost pleasure that I on behalf of the Board welcome you all to this very first Annual General Meeting of our League Board inaugurated not too long ago by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)
Our meeting today is indicative of our intention, mission and drive to uplift the NPFL to be competitive on the continent and commercially attractive to Corporate Nigeria and Businesses.
Before I proceed, let me acknowledge the tremendous support the League has received and is still receiving from our investment partners, GTI Assets Management. We will still be counting on this mutually beneficial relationship in our drive to grow the financial base of the league. Our aim is to increase the revenue base to such extent that the clubs will generate money from Sponsorship shares to attract quality players from beyond Nigeria and also improve their infrastructure.
It gladens my heart to again harp on the Broadcast Streaming deal with Propel Sports Africa which has as today, deployed cameras to ten venues as start-up. They plan to have a camera in each Stadium in the long run while we work out modalities to move cameras from one location to the nearest. So far the AI Cameras have been deployed, installed and tested in Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Uyo and Aba. Other locations are Ilorin, Jos, Gombe, Katsina and Kano. The distribution covers the geographical zones. In the days ahead, there will be a big announcement coming on the Broadcast Streaming deal.
Let me also use this very opportune occasion to appeal to our club leaders here to offer all required support to the Propel Sports Africa team as they start. Firstly is that all individual club streaming activity is no longer allowed as clubs will be offered the data of all their matches including individual analytics for each player.
As we move to commence the new season, this Board will be firm in enforcement of the rules and regulations as well as be very fair to all. There will be no favouritism in applying the rules no matter whose interest is at stake as our sole interest is the good of the league. Therefore, we would be building on the achievements of the last season to ensure that Nigeria domestic league reclaims a pride of place in Africa.
It is also important to recognise the role of the media in the success of our plans. We will be counting on your support again as we embark on this journey. We appreciate your criticisms when not destructive because negative reports chase away potential sponsors.
You will be receiving various reports as indicated on the agenda from the Secretary and the Chief Operating Officer.
Finally, let me again thank the NFF President for finding time out of his clustered schedule to honour our invitation at short notice. It is indicative of how much stock he lays on the NPFL.
To the Board members and Club representatives, I wish all of us a fruitful deliberation.
Thank you.
