Goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai of Enyimba FC of Aba
Nigeria’s professional league players languish in abject poverty
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Theophilus Afelokhali, a goalkeeper with Kano Pillars FC earning a meager wage of 14.4m Naira ($32,953) yearly, and Godwin Ogbaje of Abia Warriors FC, a player that takes home a paltry monthly salary of 1 million Naira ($2,288), represent the richest Nigerian based players.
Sports Joust can now authoritatively report that only these two players currently enjoy the recommended basic salary in the Nigerian professional football league (NPFL), which many soccer pundits say is not commensurate with the economic reality in the country.
More than eight years after the disbanded League Management Company (LMC) ordered club owners in Nigeria to pay a minimum wage of 12 million Naira basic annual salary to professional league players, only two players are currently enjoying the official wage nationwide.
Sports Joust’s investigation also reveals that even though 99 percent of the professional players who ply their trades in the Nigerian premiership league earn below the seven-digit number recommended by the suspended league company, only less than 10 percent of football players receive their salaries when due.
In contrast, most local-based players are owed as much as seven to eight months salaries in advance.
During the 2019/ 2020 season, which saw players of Hartland FC, Sunshine Stars FC, and Rivers FC go on strike in protest over unpaid salaries, forcing governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state to set up a standing committee to resolve Rivers FC’s unpaid wage bill deadlock.
A source close to Aba-based Enyimba FC told our reporter that it would be very difficult for Nigerian clubs to pay the official salary rate without a vibrant marketing and sponsorship drive.
“The LMC did not consider all these economics before asking us to pay one million Naira minimum wage in Nigeria. I don’t think it will work,” our source added.
The Interim League Management Committee will be inaugurated by the NFF chairman Ibrahim Gusau this weekend.
