World Cup
Ayodeji Omotoyinbo, a sports media consultant, has urged brands, sponsors and the media to sustain investments in Nigerian football beyond World Cup qualification campaigns.
Omotoyinbo spoke on Wednesday during an executive breakfast roundtable held in Lagos with the theme, ‘The Super Eagles and the World Cup: Lessons for Brands, Sponsors and the Media.’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event took place at The Zone, Lagos, and attracted stakeholders across Nigeria’s sports business industry.
Omotoyinbo said the gathering aimed to bridge existing gaps among brands, marketing agencies and the sports media industry.
According to him, stakeholders often reduce football business activities whenever the Super Eagles fail to qualify for major international tournaments.
“Most times, brands use the media to promote their products and services through the Super Eagles.
“But when the Super Eagles do not qualify for the World Cup, everything becomes quiet. Sponsors stop activities and the media also suffers.
“We need to sit together, discuss these issues and find long-term solutions that will help the sports business continue to grow,” he said.
Omotoyinbo noted that Nigerian sports media had performed creditably in promoting the Super Eagles over the years.
He, however, stressed the need for greater attention and investment in women’s football and age-grade national teams.
“We focus too much on the Super Eagles alone. The women’s teams have achieved a lot over the years and deserve more support and promotion.
“We also need to develop football from the grassroots and strengthen the younger teams because they are the foundation for future success,” he said.
He warned against building the sports business ecosystem around only one national team or short-term success.
“When the Super Eagles are doing well, everybody joins in, including sponsors and the media.
“But when results are poor, we must still find ways to keep the business running and keep fans engaged,” he said.
Omotoyinbo described discussions during the roundtable as engaging, insightful and productive for all participants.
“We have heard different views from brands, agencies and the media, and this is helping everyone understand each other better,” he said.
He further described the Super Eagles as one of Nigeria’s strongest national brands with capacity to attract international attention and commercial opportunities.
According to him, stronger partnerships among sponsors, brands and media organisations are necessary to maximise football-related business opportunities.
He said the FIFA World Cup presents opportunities for storytelling, fan engagement, sponsorship expansion and national image promotion.
Also speaking, Moruff Adenekan, Chief Executive Officer of PR Redline, called for stronger collaboration among brands, media organisations and content creators.
Adenekan said improved collaboration could significantly enhance sports development and sports marketing opportunities in Nigeria.
“It’s a very important gathering that has opened eyes to what can happen when brand marketing organisations, media and content creators meet around sports and sports engagement.
“It’s a great one that I believe will yield a lot of positives for stakeholders, from media organisations to brands, marketing agencies and the general public in the sports circle,” Adenekan said.
He acknowledged the important contributions corporate sponsors had made to Nigerian football development over the years.
According to him, companies such as Milo and MTN had supported football growth through sponsorship and development initiatives.
“The Nigerian football development has come this far as a result of corporate sponsors’ interventions,” he said.
Adenekan, however, urged sponsors to become more actively involved in grassroots sports development and talent discovery programmes.
“Sport development, talent hunting and talent development should start from the grassroots.
“We should not only see sponsors during international competitions. We want to see them in the developmental stage and involved all the way,” he said.
He added that sustained investment at developmental levels would help Nigeria strengthen football structures and produce more talents for global competitions.
Meanwhile, Taiwo Akinpelu, General Manager and Marketing, Carloha Nigeria Ltd., advocated stronger collaboration among brands, agencies and media organisations.
Akinpelu said sports sponsorship, branding and media support in Nigeria remained below expectations in spite of football’s commercial potential.
According to him, participants agreed during discussions that sports marketing possesses enormous untapped opportunities for companies and organisations.
“There is a need for more collaboration from the brand side, agency side and media side to fully integrate sports into business and marketing activities,” he said.
He described football as a major unifying force capable of connecting Nigerians across social, ethnic and cultural divides.
“Football is something Nigerians love deeply. It brings people together and creates major discussions everywhere,” he said.
Akinpelu added that brands should deepen investments in both Nigerian and international football because of the sport’s extensive global reach and influence.
The roundtable featured sports stakeholders, media executives, marketing professionals and football enthusiasts discussing strategies to maximise opportunities linked to the Super Eagles and the FIFA World Cup. (NAN)
