FIFA-licensed agent, Dr Drew Uyi, has commended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) over the recent TV broadcast deal signed with satellite television company, StarTimes.

Earlier this month, the NPFL and StarTimes signed a five-year broadcast rights deal worth N1 billion in Abuja, to bring Nigeria’s elite league back on television.

According to Chairman of the NPFL board, Gbenga Elegbeleye, the deal would potentially witness a N50 million increment annually from 2023 to 2028.
Elegbeleye said two matches per week would be transmitted live for the first months starting from 18 November, 2023, as a test-run for the broadcast.

Drew Uyi, who had been licensed by the English FA for years as a football agent,  before his recent certification by the world football governing body,
underscored that the deal will help develop the NPFL, through exposure and put the key actors in the game in Nigeria under the spotlight.

Uyi, a renowned and highly respected football agent based in the United Kingdom, noted that the broadcast of the league will keep referees on their toes and reduce wrong calls, as the officials would be aware they are at the centre of attraction and being watched across the globe.

The Sports and Events Management graduate from the London Metropolitan University, London, a global voice and authority as per agencing, branding, sports marketing and management, highlighted that the broadcast deal will benefit the players in terms of scouting by foreign club, as well as transparency in the operations and running of the league.

He urged the NFF to use the broadcast deal to improve the local output in the Super Eagles ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup, by identifying and inviting players who distinguished themselves in the league, as would be seen on television.

Regarding the key actors, the players, Drew Uyi charged them to improve their game, as they would henceforth be more visible to the national and global audience. He stressed that it is essential because by doing so, the players will improve their ranking and ultimately get endorsement deals. In that light, he challenged sponsors and corporate bodies to start planning endorsement deals for Eagles players heading to the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire next January.