The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has officially distanced itself from the proposed Eunisell Golden Boot Award ceremony scheduled to honor the league's top scorer, Anas Yusuf, with a ₦3.6 million prize.
NPFL Chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye expressed strong dissatisfaction with what he described as a deliberate violation of the league's naming rights by corporate organizations and their collaborators acting as organizers.
"It is not right for any persons or organisations to use the name of the NPFL and announce an award without recourse to the asset owners," Elegbeleye told NPFL media. "We are going to use every legal channel to protect our asset from this ambush of the NPFL."
Legal Action Threatened
The NPFL chairman further revealed plans to escalate the matter to regulatory authorities. "We will write to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission so that these illegal activities will stop once for all," he stated.
While acknowledging that the league appreciates value-adding initiatives such as the proposed cash award for Nasarawa United's Anas Yusuf, who emerged as the top scorer for the 2024/25 season, Elegbeleye insisted that there are established procedures for organizations wishing to partner with the league for such awards.
According to BenriNews, the unauthorized award ceremony is scheduled to take place on Friday, June 13, 2025, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in GRA Ikeja, Lagos.
"There must come a time when we must have to put a stop to end impunity no matter how long the illegality has been going on. This is the time and we must get things right," Elegbeleye emphasized.
This development comes as the NPFL looks to assert greater control over its brand and commercial rights following the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.
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