GTI Group creates new asset class as N5bn football fund debuts

THE Nigerian capital market opened a new vista of opportunities for the development of the Nigerian sports ecosystem with the launch of The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF) by GTI Group, a leading finance and investment group.

TNFF is a collective investment scheme or mutual fund that combines the regular advantages of a mutual fund with unique propositions of a structured fund.

TNFF, promoted by GTI Group and being managed by GTI Asset Management & Trust Limited, is raising N5 billion through an initial public offering (IPO) of 5.0 billion units at a par value of N1 per unit.

The TNFF, registered as an open-ended fund by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a minimum subscription of 100,000 or N100,000 and thereafter in multiples of N100,000.

Speaking at the formal launch of the fund at Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Otunba Femi Pedro said the TNFF has come to fill the missing link in the development of Nigerian sports.

According to him, the TNFF provides a unique vehicle to mobilise private sector funding for sports development, thus enabling the sector to contribute significantly to national economic development.

He noted that with its population and passion for football and other sports, efficient and consistent funding has been the major gap undermining the potential of the Nigerian sports ecosystem.

He added that the TNFF aligns with the national agenda of turning sports into a financially rewarding industry that is attractive to investors.

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Sports, Hon. Olumide Osoba, commended GTI for its innovativeness noting that the TNFFs investment proposal supports the government’s efforts at diversifying the economy.

He assured that the National Assembly will continue to support private sector initiatives aimed at fostering national growth and development.

Vice President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr Seyi Akinwunmi, said TNFF will herald a lot of greatness in the Nigerian sports industry with several multiplier effects on the economy, security and youth employment.

According to him, TNFF will change the narrative in Nigerian sports through major investments, creative initiatives and maintenance of higher standards.

Group Managing Director, GTI Group, Mr Abubakar Lawal, said the fund would serve as an enabler for sustainable funding of football and other sports, with a target of growing sports contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 0.5 per cent within the next five years.

“The way it will affect the economy is monumental. First of all, you have a vehicle that people will pool money across the globe and what it does is that natural structure will emerge on the back of this. TNFF is an enabler, the project is massive such that employment will be created, liquidity will be provided, infrastructure will be delivered, insecurity will be managed, the economy will develop from this experience,” he said.