The Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has reiterated that only clubs that meet the required club licensing standards will be eligible to compete in the 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season.
Speaking on the importance of enforcing licensing regulations, Olopade declared that there would be no compromise on the process, stressing that clubs must satisfy all stipulated requirements before being admitted into the league.
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According to him, “if only five clubs meet the licensing criteria, then only those five clubs will participate in the new NPFL campaign.”
Olopade also expressed concern over the continued migration of Nigerian footballers to lower-profile leagues abroad for modest wages, describing the trend as unacceptable for a country with Nigeria’s football pedigree.
“We cannot continue to see our players leave Nigeria for leagues in countries like Benin Republic and Vietnam to earn as little as 800 dollars. We must build a professional league that provides the right environment for players to develop and thrive,” he said.
The NSC boss maintained that strict enforcement of club licensing standards is a crucial step towards improving the professionalism, infrastructure, governance, and financial stability of clubs in the Nigerian top flight.
His comments underscore the Commission’s determination to raise the standards of domestic football ahead of the 2026/27 NPFL season.
The Commission recently announced a 2.5 billion naira prize money intervention as well placing the minimum wage of players in the league at 2 million naira.
Other Lincensing Standard includes a good playing pitch, live streaming of matches, clearing of all outstanding debts and salary arrears among others.
