LMC/ La Liga Partnership Indicator Of Something Good – Dalung

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has hailed the partnership between the managers of the nation’s league and the management of the Spanish league, La Liga, as a great “tonic for Nigerian football” and an indicator that, “inspite of the squabbles between stakeholders,” it is clear that the government’s commitment to the sector is yielding fruits and an indicator of something good.Dalung made the statement when a delegation of the La Liga and the League Management Company (LMC) paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja ahead of the signing of the technical partnership agreement between the LMC/ Nigeria Premier Football League and La Liga.

“The league in Nigeria is, indeed, a major tool for social cohesion. Government is committed to putting in place, enabling administrative and legal frameworks for international business partnerships.

The chairman of the LMC, Mallam Shehu Dikko also agreed with Dalung, insisting that the meeting of both leagues’ management at the World League Forum brought about the partnership about to take place between Nigeria and Spain towards the development of the Nigerian league.

According to Dikko, aspects of the agreement would include; the training of local coaches and administrators, youth and players’ development, commercial activities, digital media and marketing, individual and corporate ownership, amongst others.

The leader of the Spanish league’s delegation, Javier Tebas, expressed happiness in coming to share experiences with the NPFL and the LMC.

“We are here not only to teach but to share experience and we are sure we can also learn from the Nigerian Football League.  This exchange of experience will help us to grow and, through that, we‘ll see that football is not only a commercial issue but also an example of values, especially for youths. We want to use the names of our stars to transmit the values of the sport. We will also offer our expertise not only to football but to the Nigerian government,” Tebas explained.

The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, said the NFF will ensure that both parties stick to their parts of the agreements “to the letter.”

The signing of the agreement will be done today, April 26, 2016, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.