Representatives of the four clubs promoted from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) on Wednesday, August 21, completed a two-day induction workshop organized by the League Management Company (LMC) in Abuja.

The clubs that participated in the orientation program were Adamawa United FC and Jigawa Golden Stars FC that qualified from the Northern Conference of the NNL, while Akwa Starlets FC and Warri Wolves FC clubs that were promoted from the Southern Conference of the second-tier League.

The workshop is a seasonal activity of the LMC during which the promoted clubs from the lower division are familiarized with the operations of the NPFL including offering them a comprehensive knowledge of administration of professional football club in line with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Club Licensing Regulations as domesticated from the CAF and FIFA Club Licensing Regulations.

Salihu Abubakar, the Chief Operating Officer of the LMC conducted the workshop which included an interactive session with the participating club representatives during which they provided feedback on the workshop.

In his opening remarks on the first day of the workshop, Abubakar explained that, “we shall during this workshop provide you with a comprehensive knowledge of the club football administrative structure, Legal Structure and a general overview of the club licensing system and the FIFA/CAF Transfer Matching System (DTMS/TMS) and its domestication”.

“On day two of the workshop, the briefing will be on Infrastructure, Legal and Financial Criteria. Other topics for day two are Personnel and Administrative, Business, Merchandising and Promotion Criteria”.

At the end of the workshop, some of the participants said the two-day session was very illuminating and has provided them with insights that could only be gained from attending the workshop.

Chairman of Warri Wolves, Moses Etu expressed satisfaction with the course contents and noted that it exposed him to the difference between playing in the lower league and the NPFL.

“From this workshop, we have been educated on the regulations on and off the field of the NPFL, we now know that we are in a different terrain from what we were used to before now”, declared Etu and added, “this is an eye-opener to us on the structure and what it takes to run a professional football at the level of NPFL”.

On his part, the Chairman of Akwa Starlets, Amedi Dickson also said he has been deeply enlightened on the administration, regulations and structure of NPFL Clubs.

In attendance were Pwavi Moline, Team Manager of Adamawa United, Dickson, the Chairman with Iberedem Akpan, the Secretary of Akwa Starlets. Others are General Manager of Jigawa Golden Stars, Isah Dodo, the Secretary, Gambo Labbo and Etu, the Chairman of Warri Wolves and Henry Ukah, the Secretary.