The Nigeria Professional Football League said that "it has secured a television rights deal" worth $34M with satellite broadcaster Supersport, according to VENTURES AFRICA. Organizers of the league, the League Management Company, announced the deal via their Twitter handle on Monday. The deal will run from '15 till '19. While details "are still sketchy," the LMC promised to provide more information "soon." The Nigeria Professional Football League "was without a sponsor for the last two seasons but has seen telecom giants Globacom get the rights to sponsor the league for the next three years." The new TV deal "represents the biggest sponsorship package for broadcast of any sports in Nigeria and has been welcomed by football fans across the country" (VENTURES AFRICA, 8/20). INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL's Mark Baber reported the four-year deal will cover the rights to televise the league in Nigeria and the whole of Africa. However, "some funds will be released before then to help the League overcome its cash crisis and to consolidate the position of the LMC." The Ministry of Sports and Nigeria Football Federation "will act as guarantors for the contract," with LMC Chair Nduka Irabor saying that it will not start until '15 "in order to allow Total Promotions which signed a contract with the now defunct NPL, run out its existing contract" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 8/21).
