By Wale Mustapha
The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) board has announced a ₦1 million fine for any club that fails to present its head coach at post-match press conferences during the upcoming 2025/26 season.
This directive was issued during a preseason seminar held on Friday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, attended by media officers, supporters’ club chairmen, and chief security officers of NPFL clubs.
According to the league organizers, it is now mandatory for head coaches to personally attend post-match briefings. The league emphasized that sending assistants in place of head coaches will no longer be tolerated.
“This is a global standard and we expect every club in the NPFL to comply,” a league official stated during the seminar.
The move is part of efforts by the NPFL to improve professionalism and media engagement in the domestic league.
The 2025/26 NPFL season is scheduled to kick off on Friday, August 22.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
