By Aaechi Agbo

Digital media and broadcasting outfit Murphy Ben International (MBI) Sport has officially announced its inability to broadcast the highly anticipated Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) fixture between Rivers United and Rangers International on Sunday, citing an unexpected denial of stadium access by the host club.

The media organization released an official public statement detailing the setback, which prevented their production crew from executing its scheduled live coverage. According to MBI Management, the team was fully equipped and prepared for the production but was turned back at the venue due to a deliberate refusal by the host club’s administration to grant them standard broadcasting access.

In the statement, MBI expressed deep disappointment over the development, emphasizing that its technical crew encountered absolute non-cooperation from the club’s management despite their operational readiness.

“Murphy Ben International wishes to inform the public, football fans, and supporters of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) that our production crew was unable to cover the scheduled match involving Rivers United and Rangers due to circumstances surrounding the club’s refusal to grant our crew access to carry out its coverage,” the management stated.

The company further clarified that its primary goal was to elevate domestic football viewership, a mission that was directly hindered by the incident. “Despite our readiness and commitment to bringing the excitement of Nigerian football to fans across the country and beyond, the necessary access was not granted, making it impossible for our team to proceed with the planned production.”

The sudden blackout left thousands of Nigerian football enthusiasts who rely on MBI Sport’s digital broadcast channels stranded. Addressing the affected viewers, MBI extended a sincere apology for the disruption, attributing the lapse entirely to stadium logistics and host club resistance.

“We sincerely regret the disappointment this may cause our viewers and supporters who were looking forward to watching the match through MBI Sport,” the statement read.

Despite the standoff, the media corporation re-established its long-term vision to promote and expand the reach of the Nigerian top-flight league. MBI management assured fans that it is actively engaging with administrative headers and legal stakeholders within the NPFL structure to prevent future gatekeeping incidents.

“We remain committed to promoting the NPFL, expanding access to Nigerian football, and delivering quality coverage to fans. We will continue to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure that football lovers are not deprived of the opportunity to follow their teams,” the company concluded, while expressing gratitude to its audience for their continued patience and understanding.

League authorities have yet to issue an official response regarding the broadcast rights friction or whether disciplinary actions will face the host club for blocking accredited production crews.

As at the time of this report, the match was at 1-1 scoeline.

The NPFL, MBI Partnership

In August 2026, the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) unveiled a strategic digital broadcasting partnership with Murphy Ben International (MBI).

The agreement was explicitly engineered to provide free, high-definition match streaming to football fans worldwide via the official NPFL YouTube channel. It succeeded a previous deal with Propel Sports Africa.

Just weeks before this incident, in October 2026, the NPFL and MBI announced they had procured advanced outside broadcast equipment to expand live games to regional clusters, including establishing new Friday and weekend broadcast slots.

The denied coverage occurred during a high-stakes Matchday 11 fixture in Port Harcourtn. Both clubs entered the match tied at the very summit of the league with 17 points each, with Rivers United on top based on goal difference.

The defending league champions, Rangers International (Enugu), were highly motivated to secure a result after a painful elimination from the CAF Champions League.

This isn’t the first time Rivers United clashed with accredited media. The club has faced criticism in the past for blocking previous broadcast partners (like Propel Sports) from streaming live from their home ground.

Prominent Nigerian sports journalists and fans have publicly called on the NPFL board to penalize Rivers United heavily, arguing that locking out the official TV crew severely damages the league’s commercial growth and transparency.