Sports

IMC Secures N200 Million Subvention For NPFL Clubs

The Interim Management Committee (IMC), saddled with the responsibility of organising the 2022/2023 Nigeria Professional Football League, have secured the sum of N200 Million Naira as start-up subvention.

The NPFL season is sponsored by partners, GTI, and it will see each of the 20 clubs receiving the sum of N10 Million

Meanwhile the first game of the season will be between Akwa United versus Bendel Insurance at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium on Sunday evening.

The remaining nine fixtures on Match day 1 will hold next weekend across the Federation.

The season will be in an abridged format, in order to have the same calendar with other leagues around the world.

The abridged league, which was vehemently opposed by 16 of the 20 Premier League clubs, will have 10 teams in Groups A and B respectively.

Meanwhile the IMC also ratified the appointment of Honorable Faith Irabor as the Professional Referees Association’s Chairperson.

Mrs Irabor was a onetime Director of Sports in Edo state. The body have veteran referee, Austin Chukwujekwu as Vice Chairman.

The referees’ indemnity will be paid by the sponsors.

It was also disclosed that the new season will be live on television.

However, talks are still ongoing over the possibility of a cable TV company and the national television station both broadcasting the matches simultaneously rather than exclusive coverage by one of the parties.

The season was due to start in September 2022 but later moved to December.

The December 28 kick off date was later jettisoned and a new date of January 8 eventually agreed upon by the Adminstrators of the 20 Premier League clubs.

Izuchukwu Okosi

Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.