Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye has urged the Super Eagles to secure the country’s fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title to expand the domestic football ecosystem.
On the sidelines of the sendoff dinner for the team in Lagos on Tuesday, Elegbeleye told NPFL Media that winning the title would trigger a domino effect of increased interests in football in the youth population.
Nigeria last won the continental title in the 2013 edition in South Africa with the now late Stephen Keshi in charge of the national football team. Previous wins were at home in 1980 and 1994 in Tunisia.
The NPFL boss, who also second Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation, said that success at AFCON would also stimulate football business in general as domestic and international investment in the sport would spike.
“As it stands, there’s growing interest in football among young boys and girls but winning the fourth AFCON title will energise more numbers and increase their appetite to be like their compatriots who made the success possible”, the former federal lawmaker said.
“It is not in doubt that domestic football has been on the upward trajectory in terms of investments, especially in the league. Winning the AFCON will add impetus in our capacity to attract higher domestic and foreign investors because success is a magnate to industry”.
He said that the NPFL Board, clubs and their players would be routing for the Super Eagles, a reason for the rescheduling of Matchday 18 fixtures that clashed with Nigeria’s opening match on Sunday.
The Super Eagles open their quest for honours at the tournament on Sunday with a Group A fixture against Equatorial Guinea with the second group game against hosts, Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday, 18th January and last game on Monday, 22nd January against Guinea Bissau.
