Have A Fandom Portfolio: Highly Recommended for Football fans in Nigeria.

We are not saying football consumers in Nigeria shouldn't enjoy their favorite Premier League, but what we are saying is they can have ''Fandom Portfolio.'

Fandom Portfolio have been a phenomenon around the world, especially in China and South Africa where sport marketers have succeeded, to a relative extent, in gaining some of the fans' devotion in Premier League teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea etc.

...by persuading them to also devote their support to their local Chinese Super League teams such as Guangzhou Evergrade, Shangai SPI, Beijing Guoan...

Or in South Africa to also support Premier Soccer League teams: Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns...

What Exactly is "Fandom Portfolio?"
Fandom Portfolio refers to fans having a number of teams they support at a time. Majorly, one from any of the top European leagues and another from the local league in their country of resident, reflecting "the fluid and open way many of us football lovers lead our lives today."

Fandom Portfolio isn't new, it has existed for decades. Ardent fans of one particular club will often have a soft spot for a team in a different division or a team in a league outside their favorite league.

Therefore, we are saying you should also have soft spot for instance, Nigeria Professional Football League teams such as Enyimba FC, Kano Pillars, Enugu Rangers, Lobi Stars...while supporting your favorite teams in Premier League, Laliga, Seria A or Bundesliga...

It's common sense that the delibrate consumption and investing in Nigerian leagues and teams are very important steps we must take individually and collectively to grow our football industry

But the nature of fandom in Nigeria has changed, probably for the worst, because of mainstream media lackerdaisetical attitude in broadcasting Nigerian leagues.

The popularity of such football programs as "Match of the Week" which broadcast Nigeria Division 1 league matches Wednesday night on free-to-air NTA network all over Nigeria in the 80s/90s helped following Nigerian league popular in the country. That was also, of course, before the English Premier League spread its tentacles across the globe and held the interest of Nigerian fans like a spell.

Yet even two to three decades ago, the sight of a Manchester United or Barcelona shirt, let alone one with star player Messi embossed on the back, was rare anywhere in Nigeria.

These days seeing children playing in, for example, a Barcelona or Chelsea shirt is common in many neighborhoods in Nigeria, as against local clubs' merchandize.

"You hear fans shout from viewing centers anecdotes of Cristiano Ronaldo in local parlance "Ororo!" (or in the past enthroning Thiery Henry "Igwe!") anytime he makes a spectacular move or display incredible skills...has taken local consumption of European leagues to a level almost irreparable so to say.

The nature of fandom has changed with the event of social media. The rise of social or fans tv concept like Iroko tv, a channel which has over 420,000 YouTube subscribers and 481,000 Twitter followers, and personifies how the digital age has given fans a platform to voice their opinions, be it for good or bad.

"I don't feel it's very healthy," add Eric Ufere, a sport marketing practitioner in Nigeria. "Fans have got every right to their opinion but it's an uneducated opinion in many cases.

"The whole phenomenon of fan TV where you get people basically expanding on their prejudices and condemning Nigerian leagues out of hand. I don't think that's a welcome development, especially in our effort to grow the football industry in Nigeria."

We have shaked our head of disapproval as we hear Nigeria's business mogul and Africa's richest man make moves to invest in Arsenal and buy over majority Shares of the English team, while local clubs like Kano Pillars are largely under-funded.

We have watched with regrets, as lots of corporate brand in Nigeria endorsed Premier League club's and players, paying high amounts in royalities for using their club's logo on their brand package. And we are saying what about clubs in Nigeria, what about investing, endorsing to grow our football industry here in Nigeria.