Benue State governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia has been appointed the Grand Patron of the Nigerian Football Premier League (NPFL) Clubs’ Media Officers Association just as the media chiefs have been tasked to work harder and more creatively to help reposition the game of football in the country.
This was one of the outcomes of the inaugural Media Summit of the Media Officers of the 20 professional clubs in the country, which was organized by the League Management board at Kimbis Hotel, Makurdi, Benue State on Friday.
Held to chart a new path into the Nigerian-rich football ecosystem, the media officers were acquainted with their roles and responsibilities as gatekeepers and warehouse officers of their clubs as well as the various creative ways they can drive their clubs to greater heights.
Governor Alia, who declared the event opened expressed the desire of his government to return to the glory days of Benue football, adding that as a sign of greater things to come, work is being expedited on completion of the renovation of the Aper Aku stadium.
He disclosed that he has brought back both the Governor’s Cup and the all-secondary school games which seek to discover new talents for the country, and added that work would soon start on the renovation of the Gboko stadium to ginger the birth of another club in the state.
The Chief Operating Officer of the League Management board, Davidson Owumi, and the President of the Media Officers Association, Amos Eche, who presented an award and a plaque to the governor, commended the governor for his contributions to the development of football in the country.
Several major decisions were made at the summit, among them that every club be given one month to put in place a functional website for use by both the club and others.
All media Officers in conjunction with their management team and business partners are to identify 5 commercial centres, where the activities of their clubs can be advertised.
They also resolved that for each game in the new football season, the team squad and team list should be sent to the League Management board 24 hours before the game.
Officials of the League Management Board and the media Officers later paid an inspection visit to the Aper Aku Stadium.
