A consortium of investors based in the U.K. are reportedly "ready to invest" as much as $1.5B in the Nigeria Professional Football League, according to Jude Iroha-Udoka of Nigeria TODAY. Sport promotion company Arabella 21st Century CEO & President Otunba Femmy Carrena said that the deal "was as good as done, with a few conditions." He said, "Yes, they want to bring in about $1.5 billion into Nigerian football, but there is a caveat to it. They are not going to tamper with the constitution, statutes or football article. It is the same thing they did in China and Japan. The league board will operate with the NFF (Nigerian Football Federation) and the Ministry will be involved. They want to set up a Football Development Company that will be quoted on the stock exchange, with the same applying to all the football clubs in Nigeria." He added, "They want to come to Nigeria and manage our league for the next 20 years. After a meeting with the ministry and other stakeholders, they’ll set up the company but their Nigerian counterparts are expected to invest 30% of the $1.5 billion. They’re ready to put their own money into the stock exchange, but they’ll have the controlling share." If the deal falls through, Carrena disclosed, "there would be a football conference in the country to let the various clubs know what to expect." Carrena: “They will restructure the league, get the television rights but not before a conference which will explain to everyone how it will work." Nigeria Youth & Sport Development Minister Solomon Dalung revealed that the ministry "would no longer invest in elite sports development, as it would be private-sector driven from henceforth." He said, "It will now be stakeholder-defined. You must put your money in it" (TODAY, 10/31).
