Harrison Jalla warns Gbenga Elegbeleye against signing slave deals for NPFL

By Saheed Afolabi

The chairman of Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) Task Force, Harrison Jalla has warned the leadership of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) against the mistakes of their predecessors.

And blunt Jalla advised the NPFL chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye to avoid plugging the league into a slavery contract and shun corrupt stakeholders, stressing that it would be foolhardy to rush into signing another sponsorship deal.

“Let’s remind the Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye led NPFL board that some stakeholders including many League Writers laid down their lives to wrestle the NPFL out of the suffocating grip of the defunct League Management Company (LMC) with the unflinching support of the former Minister of Sports Chief Sunday Dare,” Jalla told BSN Sports.

“And more so the NPFL Board should be properly guided to understand that the Players Bloc are co-owners of all the commercial properties and rights of the NPFL.

“From all indications the NPFL and GTI partnership is work in progress, it would be foolhardy at this stage to rush into any under the table slave contract.

“What is the value of the NPFL broadcast right at the time Supersport pulled out? That should be the start point for fresh negotiation as the NPFL/GTI partnership progresses.

“The main plank of the NPFL/GTI partnership is to avoid the pitfalls of slave contracts and keep the NPFL running until all its properties are disposed off at the appropriate commercial value to ensure financial independence of all the NPFL clubs.

“We cannot afford to go back to the past where personal interest is the order of the day. The Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye led board must be given maximum support by all stakeholders to continue their good job.”