WFS Ambassador Lands Title Sponsorship For NPFL

MUDASHIRU TAWAKALITU OLUWATOYIN 

World Football Summit Ambassador to Africa and CEO of F&A Sporting Management, H.E. Prince Fred Akhigbe, has leveraged his international network to secure a landmark title sponsorship for the Nigeria Premier Football League. The deal is set to be formally signed in the coming days.

Prince Akhigbe said the breakthrough was born out of a simple conviction to serve Nigerian football first.

“This massive investment by a foreign entity should serve as a wake-up call to renowned organizations like Dangote, BUA, and the oil and gas giants. Nigeria is blessed with enormous capital, but they are not investing in sport because they do not see transparency,” he said.

“The turning point came to me in a dream: stop asking what Nigerian sport can do for you, and ask what you can do for Nigerian sport.”

Following thorough research, the WFS leadership identified the profile of the current NPFL Chairman, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye. He was contacted through the WFS Ambassador to Africa, Prince Fred Akhigbe, who extended a WFS invitation to him to speak on a panel at the World Football Summit in Madrid, Spain.

“The moment he stepped on that stage, investors took notice,” Akhigbe explained. “They saw leadership, credibility, and someone they could trust. That’s what capital chases.”

Working with partners from that platform, Akhigbe helped facilitate the NPFL’s new title sponsorship, a move he describes as proof of concept for Nigerian football’s commercial potential.

“I’m very proud of this,” he added. “It shows what’s possible when we put the right people in the right rooms.”

The NPFL deal validates the value of global platforms like the World Football Summit. “WFS event tickets are not an expense, they are an investment,” he said. “That’s how I met the partners and the credibility that led to this. Access like this is what turns potential into deals.”

The Summit is marking a major milestone this year as it celebrates its 10th anniversary in Madrid on _September 15–16, 2026_.

The bigger picture goes beyond one deal. For decades, Nigeria’s economy has been defined by oil, a resource that enriched a few but left the wider sports ecosystem underfunded and dependent on government subventions. That model is no longer sustainable, and the private sector has been hesitant to step in without clear structures.

But the fundamentals have changed. Nigeria has a youthful population of over 220 million, a massive domestic market, and a global diaspora that consumes our football with passion. The appetite is there. The audience is there. The commercial value is there.

“Sport is the new oil well in Nigeria,” Akhigbe stated. “If we professionalize the structures, enforce transparency, and build investor confidence, we will unlock an industry that can create jobs, attract foreign capital, and sustain itself without waiting on government funding.

We have the population. We have the size. We have the market. What we need now is the will to harness it properly.”