SUPALIG: Abia launches Nigeria’s first state-wide football league

From Okey Sampson, Umuahia

The Abia State government has launched Nigeria’s first state-wide football league, known as the Abia State Football Supalig.

Governor Alex Otti has promised to reduce youth unemployment significantly by engaging young people in the sports value chain.

Unveiling the Abia Supalig in Umuahia on behalf of the government, the State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said a key mandate of his ministry was the meaningful engagement of youth in ways that allow them to make a worthy living through the expression of their sporting and entertainment talents.

Ananaba said resolving this challenge requires that Abia significantly improve the utilisation of its available sports assets, especially the two main stadia in Umuahia and Aba, which are mostly used for just 19 days out of 365.

“When you do the maths, you will discover the immense negative returns on investments (ROI) on these multi-billion naira investments, which should otherwise be generating revenue for the government while simultaneously allowing our youths to express their sporting and entertainment talents for reward,” he said.

The Commissioner said that, having looked at things carefully, the state saw it as the right thing to support the launch of the Abia Supalig, adding that its matches will be played at the Enyimba and Abia Warriors Stadia in Aba and Umuahia respectively.

Ananaba said that for the Supalig to achieve its goals, the state has entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement with Fifty1 Alliance Limited, a sports and entertainment assets management company.

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The Commissioner explained that to ensure the smooth running of the Supalig’s affairs, an eight-member League Management Committee (LMC) will be inaugurated, comprising himself as Chairman and membership drawn from Fifty1 Alliance, club owners, and experienced sports and football administrators.

“The Abia Supalig will comprise one division only, called the Supalig, and there will be no promotion or relegation to enhance the value of the clubs as an asset to their owners, with potential upside resale value.

“The Supalig will have nine teams, three teams from each of the senatorial zones in Abia State, with 72 matches played across each season.

“The Supalig will have prize money in the region of N20 million to N25 million to be shared by the Supalig clubs according to their finishing position at the end of the league season. Subject to other revenues, there is scope for an increase in the value of the prize pot.

“Team ownership will be determined through a bidding process supervised by Fifty1 Alliance and the Abia State Ministry of Youth and Sports.”

Ananaba said the LMC would soon release the timeline and procedure for the events leading up to the first Supalig match.

Dike Dimiri, Managing Director of Fifty1 Alliance, a partner of the Abia State Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, said the Supalig’s intention was to create more value by taking football opportunities in the National Leagues and creating more opportunities for sports business.

He said the Supalig would create balanced development in the state, with the capacity to raise the state’s GDP by at least 5% in the short term if well executed.

Some of the benefits of the Supalig he listed include, “Training of youths in sports business and sports media production, investment in and maintenance of the state’s sports assets, utilisation of planned infrastructure such as the airport and new stadium, and prevention of talent drain from the state as new high-value jobs are created.”

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