The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have said they are still studying a new centralised television deal approved by CAF for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria’s income as well as those of South Africa and Egypt are expected to be hardest hit by this arrangement which allows for a central television and marketing deal worth a minimum of $23 million to be shared by the 52 CAF member-nations in a formula to be agreed soon.
This was what obtained for the qualifying rounds of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
“When the situation becomes clearer, we will let you know our position on this matter,” general secretary of the NFF, Musa Amadu, told MTNFootball.com as he insisted on not volunteering any more comments.
The four-year agreement between the NFF and private television station African Independent Television (AIT) that covers the broadcast of Super Eagles matches will therefore, be affected by this.
The deal, which was signed last year, was to run till 2014 and it guarantees the NFF 250 million naira a year.
A top AIT staff told MTNFootball.com: “We will certainly seek audience with the NFF in this respect.
“It’s most certainly not favourable for private initiatives like ours.”
The staff said they have already begun to feel the pinch of this centralised arrangement after the CAF marketing agents demanded they pay $150,000 to transmit the recent Nations Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Madagascar in Antananarivo.
“How could we have recouped such an investment?” asked the AIT staff.
Millions of Nigerian fans eventually suffered a complete television blackout of the all-important clash.
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