NPFL: The BOLD plan to stop players from running away as champions get ₦200 million prize money

The NPFL board has increased the winners' prize by N50m and unveiled an ambitious plan to end player migration in the Football League.

The winner of the 2024/25 Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, season will receive a massive prize of ₦200 million, the league's chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye has announced.

The staggering increase, a 33.3% jump from the 150 million won by Enugu Rangers last term, is part of the NPFL board's ambitious plans to revitalise and modernise Nigeria's top flight.

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NPFL prize money goes up

Elegbeleye revealed the details after the league's Annual General Meeting in the nation's capital on Tuesday, where club owners also agreed on an August 31 kickoff date for the upcoming campaign.

"When we came in some two seasons ago, we discovered that the prize money for the league winner was ₦50 million, which the winner didn't even get," Elegbeleye said in a video on X.com.

"We promised we would give the winner ₦100 million, some people shouted 'e-money, where will they get it?' But by the time we finished, we gave the winner ₦100 million, and then, Rangers won last season, we improved by giving them ₦150 million."

The NPFL chairman emphasised the need to inject more funds into the league to prevent the country's top talents from seeking opportunities abroad.

"Next season the winner will get ₦200 million and the award of ₦1 million each to the best player and the coach will continue to encourage our league system," he declared.

"We want Nigeria's football system to have a new look, for people to have confidence in us, we want to inject more money into the league so that players will not run to smaller countries to start looking for clubs to play for. We want them to stay at home."

Enugu Rangers ended an eight-year drought by clinching the 2023/24 NPFL title, pocketing the ₦150 million prize.

The gigantic increase in the league's top prize is sure to heighten the competition and excitement among the 20 participating clubs.

In a related development, former Super Eagles winger Peter Odemwingie has reflected on his inspirational football journey, crediting his early experiences and mentors in the NPFL for shaping his successful international career.

Odemwingie, who enjoyed a prolific spell in the Premier League with West Bromwich Albion, revealed the influential figures he learned from during his time with Bendel Insurance in Benin City.

"When I arrived in Benin City at that time, I was 17, you had Harrison Omuko, Chico, our captain, we had Augustine Eguavoen, who was my GM (general manager of Bendel Insurance)," the former striker recalled.

"We had a good coach, Solomon Ogbedi. So, there were a lot of people to learn from - there was Chukwudi Nworgu as well, he was playing for the under-17 national team at the time."

The NPFL's increased financial incentives, coupled with the testimonies of successful alumni, are sure to inspire the next generation of Nigerian footballing talent to excel in the domestic league.

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