Nigerian Professional Football League side El-Kanemi has announced a cash injection of $600,000 from the Borno State Governor, Kassim Shettima.

The newly promoted team began the 2012/2013 season with a goalless draw away at Nasarawa United and are focused on securing their place in the top tier of Nigerian football, at least for another season.

Officials of El-Kanemi FC have confirmed the approval of the $600,000 allocation from the State and have also disclosed that the funds have been utilized on paying 50 percent of their players’ sign-on fees and clearance fees for newly signed players.

The El-Kanemi model is common in Nigerian football circles where football clubs are owned, funded and run by state governments and as such, these football clubs are included in the state’s budgetary allocations.

Presently, only two football clubs in the Nigerian Professional Football League, Nembe FC and ABS FC, are privately owned.

The culture of private business ownership in local football in Nigeria is at a stage of infancy, and most investments in football, such as brand partnership  – Etisalat/Barcelona partnership deal –  are aligned with foreign football clubs.

A major indication of the lack of investment in local football in Nigeria is the fact that the major male and female football leagues in the country have kicked off without title sponsorship.