Urged to Prioritize Adequate Training/Funding For Media Departments…Davidson Owumi
By Aderonke Ojo
Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) clubs have been charged to create and maintain a functional website for better access to clubs contents and verifiable information.
Chief Operating Officer of the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL), Chief Davidson Owumi lamented the poor access to credible and verifiable information from all the twenty NPFL clubs citing it as one of the mammoth hindrance to the league’s sourcing for sponsorship.
Chief Owumi while delivering his welcome address recently in Enugu at the NPFL-AFRINVEST Seminar/Workshop tagged “Marketing Investments, Brand Merchandising and Media” organized by the league in conjunction with Afrinvest was pained and lamented that both the league body and clubs are carelessly losing millions of naira from sponsors that could have been attracted and profitably harnessed for the betterment of the league and clubs in general.
This he said is consequent upon inadequate, inconsistent, epileptic and absence of verifiable data from all the league’s participating clubs who lack functional websites and other social media presence.
Davidson further reinforced that the league is gradually going to roll out sanctionable measures to compel all league clubs to forcefully comply with their policies.
He said any club both newly promoted and those currently at the top tier who hasn’t created, nor doesn’t maintain and or doesn’t have a functional website will not be given club licensing and may eventually have its license revoked.
Continuing the Chief Operating Officer also asked club administrators to up their game and make adequate adjustments in profusely funding media departments at their various levels.
He reiterated that without adequate funding and consistent training of media personnel the media departments could perform below average.
He added that the media department is the eye through which the public see the club hence any club without a credible and effective media department is useless and dead. Because it’s the media that will project that club bringing it to the limelight.
Owumi said that ideally a professionally functional media outlet should have up to five or six media personnel handling various spelt out duties.
“Professionally, clubs are to have the following media personnel in their media departments; a Director of Media, Still-Photographer, Graphics Designer, News Editor, Social Media Manager, Content Creator and Videographer at the most.
He further lamented that most NPFL clubs are operating below expectations professionally as just one single individual is saddened with the whole work-load of media from taking photographs, handing interviews, writing articles/stories, updating social media pages, taking videos to doing the graphics.
“ This is unprofessional, unproductive and counter-effective form of sports journalism.” He added. He further directed all clubs to up their games and do the needful as the time of grace is over.
Citing that the league body has been given the mandate and authority to enforce its licensing rules without hesitation hence any club found wanting will be dealt with without thinking twice.
