Football is more than just a sport in the most populous country in Africa. The passion is palpable and Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, who was in Lagos at the maiden edition of the AITEO-Nigerian Football Federation Awards.summed it up perfectly.
“I was told that in Nigeria, football is passion, but it is a lie because it is more than that. In Nigeria, I was told that football is love, but it is a lie it is more than that. In Nigeria, I was told that football is a religion, but it is a lie. It is more than that. Football is life in Nigeria” he says in his opening address to a room full of corporate executives, the upper echelons of power in government as well as the hall of fame of Nigerian football.
..Football is also business; when we can harness it properly, a lot of money can be made for the country through the game. Football can bring hundreds of thousand jobs to the people; It can put food on the table of many families and bring development and forster peace in communities across the country... only when all its potentials can be properly harness and managed.
Football Life in Nigeria
The country’s love affair with the sport has blossomed over the years into an obsessive relationship. At a buka (local restaurant) in Surulere, a waiter is nearly slapped by an angry fan when he mistakenly changes the channel from a game between Chelsea and Man U to Soundcity, the indigenous 24-hour music channel that is a favorite of most of its diners.
After a heated exchange, the manager apologizes for the interruption and the game is back on, commonsense is restored. It was a live game and the men watch intensely with passion and vigor.
“We found that football is the main pull for customers to our restaurant. They are passionate about football. It has turned into a family. Our customers come from all over Lagos to watch the games and once they are here, they have to eat and drink so it’s a win-win for us,” says Nnamdi Nwanne, owner of the restaurant.
As he speaks, a cheer rings out from a nearby viewing center "it's a g-o-a-l!! Hordes of football fans have gathered to also catch the action. This is a typical way of life in Nigeria. Every weekend and perhaps, some week days pockets of hundred to two hundred fans gather in a viewing centers to watch the Premier League and UEFA Champions league; and you could find several viewing centers within a short distance of an area, with a cumulative attendance of about 4000 to 5000 spectators...
On a typical day in Nigeria, traders, business people prefer to dress in replica jersey, cap, muffler of their favourite football teams, buy sport newspapers or use their smartphone to watch replay, highlights of games... and for several hours argue in front of their shops, about the games, stats of their favourite clubs and their favourite players etc.
And for several unemployed and less busy men gather at the newspaper vendors stand called 'free readers club.' There they read all the sport newspapers for the day and often, intense arguement ensue... as any good football story goes, it all began with the kick of the ball in 1945.
That year, the Nigerian Football Federation was introduced as the governing body for the sport. Nigeria subsequently began participating in Africa’s Challenge Cup in the 1960s. Since then, the national team known affectionately as ‘The Super Eagles’, have had a fair number of successes. They won bronze medals in the 1978 and 1979 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and in 1980, they won the championship in Lagos.
In 1984 and 1988, Nigeria subsequently captured silver medals in the tournament. Football had come to stay and with it a number of international stars were born and shipped to some of the world’s most successful football clubs with lucrative deals.
In 1985, the young cadets from Nigeria captured the first ever JVC U16 FIFA World Cup and have done so five times going, as the golden Eaglets remain the best national team in the world at this category.
In 1994, Nigeria again won the African nations Cup for the second time and also qualified for the first time to participate in the finals of FIFA World Cup in USA. It was the year Nigeria stamped her presence among the committee of footballing nations in the world.
Then in Altanta 1996, perhaps, the best moment for Nigeria football, the U23 national team, fondly called "Dream Team," defiled all odds to capture the first ever Olympic gold medal for Nigeria.
Then came the dark years. In 2010, Nigeria finished bottom of their group in South Africa with just one point from three matches after losing to Argentina and Greece and drawing with South Korea. In response, the then President Goodluck Jonathan banned the team from competing in the sport for two years. Then followed their exit at the 2014 World Cup where they lost to France, and a subsequent failure to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 editions of the AFCON, after winning their third in 2013. Nigerian football morale was at an all-time low.
Finally, a shimmer of light emerged at the end of the tunnel. The Super Eagles breezed through their group stage of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to earn a spot as one of only five African countries to make it to Russia 2018.
They were unbeaten in six matches with four wins and two draws, scoring 12 goals and only conceding four times, an incredible feat that took the team, led by German tactician, Gernot Rohr, to their sixth FIFA World Cup.
For Nigerians of this era, there is no sporting moment more significant than this triumph, especially as it is achieved against a backdrop of a sputtering economy that has gripped the country since the fall in crude oil prices and the Foreign Exchange (FX) fiasco of 2016 and 2017. The 2019 recession a greater economic uncertainty for Nigerians.
The country has been increasingly marred by public dissent reflecting the mounting anger over the failed "Change" promised them by the present ruling party. To make matters worse, Nigeria has more than 300 tribes, making a consensus of any kind at the best of times, almost impossible to reach.
“We call football the unifying factor. When Nigeria is playing everyone comes together, we forget our tribes, we forget our differences, we even forget our religion. We all hug together when we do well and we all sulk together when we lose.
Football business potentials in Nigeria
Football is also business; when we can harness it properly, a lot of money can be made for the country through the game,” says Akin Alabi, founder of NairaBET, a leader in a wide range of betting opportunities on all sports.
Several millions of Nigerians engage in sport betting, putting their money more on predicting football games. Its on record that Nigerians spend over N730 billion annually on sports betting, and at least N2 billion is generated daily.
Sports betting had become the great equalizer in the country, employing several millions of unemployed persons as agents who man betting shops and outlets across the country. And has transformed some rather impoverish persons into millionaires. For instance an apprentice boy who recently won N14 million in football betting, may have changed his fortune forever.
There are much money to be made in the football industry here in Nigeria: the grassroots and developmental football has a huge potentials, then professional football, sportswear, corporate brand activations, stars endorsements and other paraphernalia of football all has a huge potentials here. Unfortunately, there are lots of capital flight, yet the industry is largely unscathed.
