NPFL partners Murphy Ben International for YouTube streaming

The Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) has taken a major step toward transforming how Nigerian domestic football is consumed, promoted, and commercialised following the unveiling of a landmark YouTube live-streaming partnership with Murphy Ben International (MBI).

The partnership, officially formalised at a signing ceremony, is designed to bring NPFL matches directly to millions of fans via mobile phones, smart televisions, laptops, and other internet-enabled devices. The deal opens a new chapter in digital broadcasting, storytelling, fan engagement, and commercial development for the domestic top flight.

Describing the occasion as a watershed moment for the league, NPFL Chairman, Otunba Gbenga Elegbeleye, stated that the partnership actualises the board’s vision to bring match action closer to supporters wherever they are.

For years, a recurring question among Nigerian football followers has been: “Where can we watch the NPFL?”

According to Elegbeleye, that question now has a definitive answer.

“There will be no more excuses of ‘I didn’t see the match,” Elegbeleye declared, revealing that fans will now have access to live match coverage of selected fixtures, alongside delayed broadcasts of multiple games every matchday, free and in High Definition (HD) on the official NPFL YouTube channel.

The agreement follows weeks of strategic discussions between the NPFL leadership and MBI, including high-level meetings in Abuja and a facility tour of MBI’s corporate headquarters in Lagos, as both entities worked to build a digital framework capable of taking Nigerian league football to a global audience.

Elegbeleye emphasized that the scope of the partnership extends well beyond merely broadcasting live matches.

He explained that the new digital strategy will unlock fresh revenue streams, heighten brand visibility, and create stronger commercial prospects for NPFL clubs, while offering players a global platform to showcase their talent.

The NPFL Chairman added that the league identified Murphy Ben International as a partner that shares its ambition to revolutionise domestic football and project it globally, drawing a parallel to how Nigerian music and Nollywood have successfully exported the nation’s culture to international acclaim.

“MBI, through its digital and technical expertise, will support the NPFL with improved production and distribution capabilities, while also focusing heavily on telling the human-interest stories behind the league,” Elegbeleye added.

In his address, the Chairman of Murphy Ben International, Murphy Anawana, described the collaboration as a historic opportunity to elevate the domestic game.

He assured the NPFL delegation that MBI will deploy its extensive production capabilities and vast social media reach to help position the NPFL as the premier football league on the African continent.

“This partnership centers on digital broadcasting, storytelling, promotion, fan engagement, and commercial partnerships,” Anawana stated. “It creates a massive opportunity to tell the stories of the NPFL—its clubs, players, coaches, and passionate supporters—to a far larger audience and show the world the true quality of Nigerian football.”

That media-driven approach could prove transformative for a league that has historically produced generations of world-class talent but faced distribution hurdles in consistently reaching global audiences.

Under the new arrangement, the official NPFL YouTube channel will serve as the central digital hub, offering fans live match streams, delayed full-match replays, and rich storytelling content across every matchday.