Nasarawa United striker, Anas Yusuf, won’t attend the 2025 Eunisell Golden Boot Award ceremony on Friday (today) in Lagos, after the Nigeria Premier Football League challenged the organisers over what they call ‘illegal’ use of the league’s brand, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

While it remains to be seen if the event will also go ahead as planned, a source at the Lafia-based club confirmed that the player won’t grace the event as a result of the clash of interest.

The Eunisell award, which is in its seventh year, is designed to honour the highest goal scorer of the NPFL.

Yusuf scored 18 goals in the just-concluded 2024/25 season to emerge as the highest goalscorer in the Nigerian topflight, but he might not be able to get his N3.6m reward, calculated at N200,000 per goal, due to the issues around this year’s edition.

In a letter sent to the organisers by the NPFL, which was sighted by our correspondent, the league’s chairman, Gbenga Elegbeleye, described the award as illegal.

“It has come to our attention that your company has been using the name and mark, the Nigeria Premier Football League, for an award ceremony, viz, Eunisell Highest Goal Scorer award.

“This award is an illegal use of our title and use in that you do not have a partnership with the NPFL, nor have you sought approval from the board of the NPFL to use the league we organised.

“This notice serves as a warning to desist, or we will have no option but to write to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, a development that will bring your company to disrepute.

“You are invited to seize this opportunity to commence discussion to remedy the abnormalcy which we read online announcing the award date.”

While the player’s camp has noted their absence in compliance with the league body’s directive, the organisers have expressed doubts, as they lament the disruption.

“As the organiser of the prestigious Eunisell Boot, I remain very proud of the impact

Eunisell Ltd, an ISO certified company, has made on the NPFL. With brands turning their backs on NPFL, Eunisell is the only company that has touched the NPFL for 10 uninterrupted years,” Ojeikere Aikhoje, who also organises the League Bloggers Award, said.

Meanwhile, the NPFL has come under criticism for throwing the organisers under the bus.

NPFL commentator, Ralph George, said, “This is definitely not the way to go. Eunisell Boot Award should be encouraged, not called ‘unscrupulous’. This league needs such companies to propagate it from that angle of encouraging players to score goals and get rewarded.”

Aikhoje, also added, “Eunisell Boot started in 2018. Imagine, seven years ago. In 2025, someone says it’s illegal, and we expect serious brands around NPFL.”

Sports journalist, Rasaq Oboirien, also slammed the league organisers for the disruption.

“Those running the NPFL clearly lack the right conversations to push the league forward.

Who describes a reputable company that is ISO certified as unscrupulous?”