Mitchell Obi to Nigerian sports media – Stop flirting with Europe, build the NPFL

Former AIPS Africa President Mitchell Obi has challenged Nigerian sports journalists to end their overdependence on European football and redirect their energy towards building the Nigeria Premier Football League into a commercially powerful domestic sports property.

Obi, a veteran journalist and broadcaster who is also Vice Chairman of Mastersports International, made the call while speaking on the media’s role in maximising the opportunities presented by the NPFL’s new partnership with title sponsor Euromatch.

He argued that the Nigerian league would struggle to unlock its enormous commercial potential if the media continued to devote disproportionate attention to the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and other European competitions.

Obi said Nigerian sports media must move beyond simply reporting the NPFL and become an active participant in building its audience, commercial value and global appeal.

“For us, that time has come to stop this flirtation with the Euros, Spanish La Liga, Bundesliga and the Premier League,” Obi said.

“They do not give you anything. They do not put food on your table. They do not help you. The money does not come down here.”

The former AIPS Africa chief acknowledged that foreign leagues could help Nigerian media platforms attract audiences, but insisted that the ultimate objective should be to develop a strong domestic football ecosystem capable of generating revenue for clubs, players, sponsors and journalists.

Obi identified Nigeria’s huge youth population as one of the biggest untapped opportunities for the NPFL.

He recalled that millions of Nigerian youths are actively involved in football betting, yet much of that activity revolves around foreign competitions rather than the domestic league.

According to him, the sports media has a responsibility to change that narrative by making Nigerian football more attractive, accessible and engaging to its audience.

“We have a responsibility. The media, particularly the sports media, has a responsibility to drag that Nigerian youth population to look inside,” he said.

He described Euromatch’s arrival as title sponsor as a major opportunity to begin that process, but stressed that sponsorship alone would not transform the league.

Instead, he called for better storytelling, stronger production, improved match coverage, compelling highlights and innovative digital content capable of keeping supporters interested in the NPFL.

Obi said the league’s commercial future would ultimately depend on how well its product was packaged.

“As the Executive Director of GTI, Nelson Ine captured it, in his presentation, once the production is right, once the presentation is tight, then it can be bright,” he said.

He further challenged the media to consider what it could build around the league instead of merely asking what benefits were immediately available to journalists.

“There is plenty for us, but of course, it has to start with us,” Obi declared.

The veteran broadcaster also painted a picture of what a financially stronger Nigerian league could mean for clubs.

He argued that with the right investment, organisation and commercial engineering, the NPFL could eventually offer prize money capable of rivaling or surpassing the financial incentives Nigerian clubs currently chase in continental competitions.

Such growth, he suggested, would keep more football money within Nigeria and strengthen the entire domestic football chain.

“The money will be here. So, let us find our fortune here,” he said.

Obi’s intervention comes at a potentially significant moment for the NPFL, with Euromatch’s entry providing a fresh commercial platform for the competition.

But for him, the real test is not simply securing a sponsor—it is whether stakeholders can collectively turn the sponsorship into a sustainable football economy.

He urged media organisations to “build and bake the cake”, insisting that journalists should see themselves not merely as observers of the league but as stakeholders with the power to influence its growth.

“The time is ours,” Obi said.

And his message to Nigerian sports media was unmistakable: if the NPFL is to become the commercial giant its stakeholders envision, the media must stop looking abroad for the biggest football story and start building the biggest story at home.