Five former Super Eagles players, three of who was in the all conquering Tunisia 1994 Nations Cup winning side attended the unveiling of EuroMatch as the Official Title Sponsor of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL).
EuroMatch Group is a Poland-based private investment company that focuses on building and scaling technology ventures within the global gaming industry.
The NPFL and EuroMatch penned the league’s naming rights for a deal worth $7.5m over three years. President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, former Sports Minister and now Special Adviser on Public Communications to the President, Dr. Sunday Dare, amongst other guests, witnessed the unveiling ceremony.
Austin Eguavoen, the stand-in captain during the 1994 campaign led the Super Eagles cast of Daniel Amokachi, Samson Siasia and Brown Ideye, a later years Super Eagles player who won the golden boot in Nigeria’s third AFCON success in 2013 in South Africa.
Amokachi, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues described the deal as a good start to the recovery of the domestic league and urged the clubs to channel their share from the revenue to improving players’ welfare.
“Players are the main acts in the football business and it will help the fortunes of the NPFL if considerable focus is placed on improving the welfare of the players with the monies that the clubs will earn from this sponsorship”, said Amokachi, famously called The Bull.
NPFL Chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye described the partnership as reward for years of efforts at repositioning the league since 2022.
“We met the league at ground zero, there was nothing and we have been working to get to where we are today.
“I must thank the NFF President for his all round support for the NPFL and the former Sports Minister, Dr. Sunday Dare, who went all out to convince me to take up the appointment to serve as the lead for the board in 2022”, Elegbeleye remarked.
He assured EuroMatch group led by the Chairman, Semih Sacli that they would find in the NPFL the right platform to achieve their brand’s business and commercial objectives in Nigeria.
Sacli in his response, noted that the Group reckons with the inherent opportunities in Nigeria as Africa’s most populous nation.
“I believe in Nigeria and the opportunities it offers. By next year, we will return to say that we made the right decision, which is to work with the NPFL to take this league to Europe and other parts of the world”, Sacli told the audience at the Abuja Continental Hotel.
The 2026/27 season of the NPFL starts on Friday, August 28 with a flag-off match in Ibadan between hosts, Shooting Stars and visiting Inter Lagos. The other nine fixtures will be played on Sunday, August 30.