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By JOE APU
Nigeria National League Chairman, George Aluo has left many football administrators turning their heads and wondering where the magic wand is coming from with the astronomic growth of the second tier league.
At the end of his third year in office, Saturday Sun Sports caught up with him and while addressing several issues about the league, he says that his target is to make the league the most important given the fact that it is the one that builds teams for the Nigeria Premier Football League
In fact, Kunle Soname in a statement about the NNL had described it as the most exciting after witnessing the Super Four that was hosted at the Remo Sports Complex.
Enjoy the interview.
You have completed two seasons as Chairman of the NNL Board. How would you assess your administration’s performance so far?
I can with every sense of modesty say we have done well. The commendations we are getting left, right and centre is something that gladdens my heart. When I came in as chairman, I had one clear vision and that is to take the league from where I met it to a higher pedestal and I can beat my chest to say I have achieved that with the board. It was not a one man effort. What has been achieved was a collective effort because every board member put in a lot of effort and sacrifice.
What would you describe as the biggest achievements of the board during this period?
Making the league truly professional and making it the Most Important League in the real sense of that slogan. The NNL is right now a very competitive league with a very professional face.
What were the major challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
The major challenge was that of getting clubs to embrace reforms which we introduced into the running of the league. The clubs are used to the league organisers bending the rules to favour them. They are used to wanting to play without the cameras. They are used to harassing the referees and getting away with it. They are used to playing without security men at the venue and all of that. We brought in and strictly enforced new laws that changed things and embracing those reforms are not easy. We insisted that all clubs must live stream their matches a situation that made cheating a bit difficult. Some clubs would ordinarily not want visiting teams to live stream and even some go as far as destroying cameras of visiting teams. We came hard on clubs that are found wanting and that brought some sanity. As I keep asking, there must be something a team playing at home is trying to hide if you say your opponent shouldn’t live stream in this time and age of digital media. So, the relevant stakeholders not wanting to embrace reforms was a big challenge. The issue of fixture fidelity is also a challenge.
Clubs are always coming up with requests for matches to be shifted, for games to be rescheduled. For the calendar to change and all of that. As a board we stand our ground and say they must play and follow the fixtures and calendar. If you keep entertaining the requests of clubs, I can tell you we would not even have concluded the 2025/2026 season that ended on a glorious note last month in Ikenne.
Many stakeholders believe the NNL has become more competitive and better organized. What reforms have driven this progress?
What I stated above is what has brought us to where we are today and it can only get better.
How satisfied are you with the quality of officiating and match organisation this season?
Officiating has greatly improved. The referees are doing their best because they also know that our eyes are wide open. I virtually monitor every game alongside my board members.
Again, we have made the welfare of referees a top priority. We are not owing a dime as match indemnity. The referees and match commissioners get their money before arriving the match venue every week. We also do not hesitate to recommend that any erring referee is sanctioned.
What measures have been put in place to protect the integrity of the league and ensure fair competition?
This is very key. The integrity of the league is key to run a professional league and to create a level playing field for everybody. To achieve that you have to be fair to all the teams and not favour any. I see and treat all the teams fairly without favouring any. As a board we don’t dance to the tune of any club. The way we handle the matter of club A is the same way we handle the matter of club B. No double standard and once the clubs know that you are not favouring any of them they are happy to go and sort out themselves on the field of play. I normally tell the clubs that the only place to win matches is on the field of play and not in the boardroom.
How important have sponsors and partners been to the growth and sustainability of the NNL?
We would not have gotten to where we are today without corporate support. But before seeking corporate support we first of all started packaging a good league. It was after the first and second season that we went out in search of sponsors because we knew we had a relatively good product to sell. We had a league where clubs were winning on the road. I am happy a company like Betpawa came on board and Top Tier Sports Management (TSM). These two corporate bodies gave us some lift to get the league to where it is today. I must also give a pat on the back to Sportslight Hub for streaming our matches live. The league is today more visible.
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What is your strategy for attracting more corporate support and broadcast partnerships?
The strategy is simple…to keep making the league better, more competitive and more attractive. Corporate bodies are not charity organizations. They want to put their money where they will get return on investment. As we speak, there are more corporate bodies that we are talking to…to come and buy into the league.
How would you assess the relationship between the NNL board and participating clubs?
Very cordial…we carry them along in whatever we are doing and they appreciate the efforts we are making to improve the league. The clubs are also happy we are for everybody and not one or two clubs. They are happy because they know as a person I see things dispassionately and it is the same thing with the entire board. If you ask any of the club officials they will tell you the NNL chairman is not a chairman of ‘anywhere belle face’ as they say in local parlance. They have a Chairman who do not take decisions based on ‘settlement’.
Infrastructure remains a challenge in Nigerian football. What steps are being taken to improve facilities across the league?
It is not in the place of NNL to improve facilities but it is in our place to ensure only good and standard facilities host our matches. What we have done in this direction is to ensure only good facilities are approved for clubs to play. We have had to banish some teams on account of this. We will continue to enforce our rules which is for all clubs to play on a good turf.
How effectively is the NNL fulfilling its role as a pathway to the NPFL and national teams?
We are effectively playing that role. We have at the end of every season promoted clubs on merit and those that fall short end up in NLO (amateur).
Have there been any standout players or clubs that symbolize the progress of the league?
No doubt about that. We have clubs that are run in a very thorough professional manner in NNL and I m happy we have created the right environment for them to gain promotion. You can see that this concluded season, all the four promoted clubs are privately owned. We also have seen one or two NNL players getting call up to our national teams.
What lessons has the board learned from the just-concluded season?
We are still putting together the report of the just concluded season…after that we will do a post mortem and that is when I will be able to say these are the lessons learnt and all of that.
What new initiatives should stakeholders expect ahead of the next NNL season?
We have a few new ideas that we are working on. We will present them to the Congress at the AGM before going public.
The Final 4 in the concluded season saw an increase in prize money as well as TV, how has this helped with the standards?
It definitely made the league more competitive. Clubs worked extra hard because they know there is some financial incentive in so doing.
Looking ahead, what is your vision for the NNL, and where would you like to see the league in the next two years?
My vision is to make the NNL as competitive as any other league in the world. To run a league where crowd attendance would be huge.
To run a league where coaches and players earn good money and to run a league that is on television and violent free.
I want to see the NNL being the MOST IMPORTANT LEAGUE, in every sense of the word.
