The Nigerian Premier Football League Referees and other match officials recently voiced out that they have not been paid their indemnities for officiating in the topflight for about 11 matchdays, leading to growing discontent ahead of the second stanza of the 2025/26 season.
The Nigerian league is currently on a mid-season break, and it has been made known that payments to match referees, referee assessors and match commissioners have stalled since matchday eight.
Report has it that some of the affected officials in the league, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that their basic allowances per matchday range from N60,000 to N90,000, aside from hotel and transport allowances.
“This is not just about referees. Match commissioners and assessors are also owed. I think payment stopped around matchday eight and there are about 200 of us involved in the running of the league,” one of the officials told our correspondent.
“As a matter of fact, there was no explanation or anything. The NPFL referees just manage to survive because their profession allows them to do other vocations,” another official added.
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Back in 2023, it is claimed that the Nigerian Premier Football League and its strategic partners, GTI Asset Management, approved a 30 per cent increase in the indemnities payable to match commissioners and referees in the league.
They also increased the prize money for league champions twice — from N100m to N150m and later to N200m — while granting N10m each to the 20 clubs in the league every season.
After the partnership, it was confirmed that GTI has been responsible for the payment of match officials’ indemnities. However, Andrew Ekejiuba, the firm’s Head of Media and Publicity said the outstanding allowances were already being settled.
Ekejiuba told the media outlet that “he’s aware there are some outstanding payments and, as he says, those payments are being cleared. Many of the match officials are receiving payments now, and I can assure you that before the commencement of the second half of the season, all outstanding payments will be cleared.”
