Sports Firm, Fifty-1 Alliance launches ₦10M Prize for 2025 Season Of Abia State Supalig Championship
Abia State Commissioner for Sports, Sir Nwaobilor Ananaba has said that the state government will henceforth pay serious attention to sports business, stressing that the state stands the chance of leveraging on Aba to boost its economy through sports merchandising.
Nwaobilor made the statement during the official launch of the ₦10 million 2025 season of the Fifty-1 Alliance Abia State Football Supalig 5-a-Side Championship, at the Fifty-1 Alliance Sports Centre, Umuafor Aba.
He described the launching of the official launch of the Fifty-1 Alliance Abia State Football Supalig 5-a-Side Championship as an epic achievement that has come to change the football landscape of the state, ushering in the move for business football into the state.
The Commissioner said that when he came on board; he inherited a lot of rots and neglect in sports, but today, Abia have changes in various places that now makes him believe that the state can bring sports economic zone within it by leveraging on what is happening in Aba.
“We’re thinking of sports as a business. Sports is not just jumping, running and getting medals. There’s a business behind it and that’s why athletes in America, Europe and the rest of the world make huge sums of money every week. So, we’re thinking about that direction,” he said.
Nwaobilor said that sports merchandising is the what Abia is moving into as it already making shoes, jerseys, sports apparels and other collections in Aba that are sold abroad.
According to him, “So, we want to leverage on that and start making sports merchandise in terms of football boots, football trainers and other sporting equipments.
“We just finished the NDDC Sports Festival in Uyo and we confirmed that what we wore were all made in Aba and we can do better by supporting them to get into the bigger business for sports and economic growth.”
The Commissioner said that the big advantage that Supalig 5-a-Side Championship will have a big advantage because of the live broadcast of the matches, which he said will go along way in future in raising the funds needed to keep the league running and thanked Governor Alex Otti for his full support.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Fifty-1 Alliance, Mr Dike Dimiri said that the company is among those that was attracted to invest in Abia through the sound leadership of Governor Alex Otti which has assured many people that it is safe to invest in Abia State.
He also thanked Governor Alex Otti for appointing a worthy sports commissioner, describing Sir Nwaobilor Ananaba as a round peg in a round hole, who has enabled the company to achieve most of its target since moving into the state.
Explaining the league in details, Dimiri said, “The system is very simple. It has a prize of ₦10 million, which will be shared evenly across the 8 clubs that’ll be taking part. The league features have been released.
“Each match is going to be 40 minutes. The Abia State referees association will be involved. There is nothing that will be done at the Supalig that’ll not be official.
“What we’re hoping is that as we progress, we’ll be able to take a database of allowing to know when he started playing and all of that. Most importantly, what we need most is exposure.
“We need exposure from all ramifications, be it social media and conventional media. What we’ve done is to arrange for a live broadcast of the five-a-side Supalig to be on YouTube and on the radio. In a matter of days now, we’ll also launch the website.
“So, any footballer who’s taking part in the Supalig will get maximum exposure. Above all, we believe every player should be paid and every club owner should experience some reward from their investment and that’s why we’ve put up that prize money of ₦10 million.
“There’s no relegation in this League. The day you get tired of managing your club, you get a buyer and sell the club you. It’s not an asset you own for life. You’re free to sell and focus on other things. That’s the mentality we’re bringing to football.”
