Proposed N2m wage for NPFL players is a wrong start – Ebi Egbe

Sports

By Akeem Busari 

THE debates and criticisms over the proposed N2 million minimum wage for players in the tbe Nigeria Premier Football League have continued with more stakeholders in the Nigerian football fraternity, including Ebi Egbe, the Chief Executive Officer of Monimitchelle Sports Facility Construction Company, who

 described it as a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. 

Renowned as one of Nigeria and Africa’s best sports facility experts, Egbe said: “You cannot legislate professionalism, while ignoring the foundation of professional football.”

“How can clubs be forced to pay ₦2 million monthly when many NPFL pitches are still unsafe, substandard and unfit for elite football?,” he said. 

“A player’s first welfare is not his salary, it is the pitch he plays on every week. No serious football nation prioritizes wages over infrastructure.

“Better pitches reduce injuries, improve the quality of football, attract sponsors, increase broadcast value and ultimately generate the revenue needed to pay higher salaries.”

He also queried the NSC for talking about a ₦2 million minimum wage, before talking about mandatory pitch standardization for every NPFL club?

“Without standard pitches, the proposed salary structure is not football reform, it is political populism. Fix the pitches, enforce club licensing, raise infrastructure standards, then demand higher wages.

“Professional football is built on standards, not slogans. Until every NPFL club plays on a certified, professionally maintained pitch, a ₦2 million minimum wage is simply starting from the wrong end,” he added.

A.I

July 22, 2026

Tags: Akeem Busari Ebi Egbeda