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Pioneer Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Nduka Irabor, has opened up on several challenges facing the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Bestchoicesports.com.ng understands.

The Nigeria’s top-flight is reportedly set to resume later in November after several delay and postponements , however Irabor said the fundamental problems are responsible for the inability of the league to run without interruption.
Irabor, a former chairman of the Communications Committee of the House of Representatives, who took charge of the then League Management Committee and incorporated a statutory independent body to manage the league six and half years ago, said one of the problems facing the league is lack of money from broadcast right.
“Our inability to get our local tax funded television station to buy right into our products , is one of the problems, he started.
“We pay tax to Government, but why can’t buy the game for NTA, by doing so, the league is going to get money to run it’s self.
“Today the league needs between 1.5b to 2.5b naira to operate every season.”
“Where is that money going to come from?, It’s going to come from the industry, but the first products is the broadcast right into the league, Supersports goes away and then we are flat ”
“Two seasons ago we experimented with NTA, but it will surprised you that the experiment with NTA was partially successful, but it was turning things pyramid round, the league paid NTA for the production.”
“It does not happen anywhere in the world, the television pays the league , not the other way round .”
He then charged the Club owners and government to provide good facilities in their Stadium, and to follow the directives of the League Management body on the improvement of player’s welfare to reduce exit of quality players from the league.
“Right now we are all want to see attractive football when we have not organise the Clubs , let us have the basic fundamental structures , we only have boys who are rushing to play the game without proper training, they are not well funded funding , if they are properly funded they won’t be rushing abroad for Greener pastures, it’s a circle.”
Irabor who has announced his intentions to quit his position with the League Management Company come December, stressed further by lunching outrageous attacks on Nigerian brands who neglects the Nigerian football to invest in foreign football.
“We are in this country seeing our corporate bodies, companies we patronize with our own money taken the money they made from Nigeria to buy into the broadcast right of European football and we are saying the standard of game is going down”. He concluded.
According to LMC top official, the NPFL 2019/2020 season is now expected to kickoff on November 3rd.