14 Things You Didn’t Know About Nigeria’s Crazy Football Fans

You may be familiar with this advert: A man who just didn’t notice his wife, looking so sexy in her transparent night gown and wanted him to come to bed, but the man was too engrossed in a football match on TV. I guess the wife felt so frustrated – ‘crazy husband!’

Well, not so crazy like the over 30 million fans cheering and glaring at sport bars and viewing centers across the country, watching the same match on Satellite TV. That’s Nigerians for you.

On the streets, fans of various English Premiership clubs proudly wear their jersey everywhere they go. Their houses, offices, cars… are all decorated with their favorite team’s merchandize (souvenirs). The passion for football is so consuming in Nigeria.

It has caught up with the women folks and kids too. Wives and their husband, Kids and their dads, find love in supporting the same team. Though, it isn’t always the case. In some instance, family members support different teams, with heated argument at home, but the demand for football is ever growing.

At first glance, you may think anything football appeal to Nigerians, but you may soon observe it isn’t so. Many businesses had failed with such assumptions. Nigerian fans may have some peculiar habits you didn’t know about and I like to share 14 of them in this article.

1.Nigeria fans are far more sophisticated than the local football leagues. Only about 2% of the entire fans still go to the stadium to watch Nigeria Premier League.

2. Most Nigerian fans prefer to watch EPL match than even watch any of the national teams play.

3. Most Nigerian fans rarely go to the stadium. They prefer going to sport bars and viewing centers to watch major European league games.

4. Most Nigerian fans have satellite TV and would subscribe to Super Sports. However, they prefer to watch top matches like El Classico in a sport bar or viewing center.

5. Most Nigerian fans support these six top European teams: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

6. Most Nigerian fans would gamble with huge amount of money in fixtures between Chelsea Vs Manchester United, Barcelona Vs Real Madrid.

7.Most Nigeria fans play Sport Betting and stake more money on EPL and UCL games.

8. Most Nigerian fans can’t recognize even a top scorer or a top star in Nigeria Premier League, but can virtually read out profiles of most players in top teams in Europe.

9. Most Nigerian fans support good football and would even ‘boo’ the national team or cross carpet from one EPL team to another, if their favorite team isn’t playing well.

10 Most Nigerian fans like to gather around a newspaper vendor’s stand to read and argue news concerning top teams and about Nigerian players in Europe.

11. Most Nigerian fans like to buy the latest Jersey and merchandize of their favorite clubs in Europe, especially if the team is doing well in all competitions.

12. About 60% of the fans would like to customize their Jersey with their name, nickname and preferred number.

13. Most Nigerian kid fans between the ages of 7 – 14 years would want to be like Messi or Ronaldo and prefer to own a jersey printed Messi or Ronaldo.

14. Most Nigerian youth fans between the ages of 13 – 26 years, dream to pursue a football career in Europe.