Nigerians don’t seem to support their own. Like they have a knack for foreign products, it is the same for football. Many football-loving fans in Nigeria would always watch the foreign leagues rather than the Nigerian Professional Football League, NPFL.
Some would argue that the quality of the game is nowhere near that of the Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga, or French League Un. In many cases, it’s the truth because these leagues have been established to attract viewers’ interest with the kind of play and its environment.
Undoubtedly, the English Premiership is far more intriguing and entertaining than the South Africa Premier League. The question is how this entertainment value leads to strong affiliation and identification with teams. Many individuals would without flinching choose to watch FC Barcelona or Chelsea FC over the Nigerian national team or NPFL matches if the time of their matches coincides.
It is not an easy question to answer but it seems to me that most Nigerian football fans see these football clubs as a way of identifying with the foreign (or the ideal) and invariably as an extension of themselves. It is not uncommon to see young boys who call themselves Fabregas or Messi or Ronaldo.
In Enugu, in 2015, when Barcelona won the Champions League, Nigerian fans of the club in that city had a thanksgiving service in a church. In 2016, a Nigerian fan killed his friend following an argument over Messi and Ronaldo’s superiority.
Undoubtedly the country loses a lot of revenue due to the lack of fan interest in teams in the local league. Interest in European leagues can go side by side with interest in the local league. The lack of interest in the Nigerian league is due to several reasons. One is the lack of professionalisation in the sports industry in Nigeria. As long as the domestic league remains unprofessional in its organisation the league will still lack maturity.
Apart from amateurish performances by the players, it takes the special grace of God for one to visit certain match venues in the NPFL and come out unscathed. Of course, there is a slight improvement in security but some venues are still slaughter slabs.
In 2023, legendary Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Azuka Okocha in an interview with Brila FM, admitted that he prefers watching the European leagues to the NPFL or any local league.
Okocha made this declaration during the English Premier League trophy tour in Nairobi, Kenya.
“At this stage that I am now, I think it will be unfair for me to lie to my people, it will be unfair for me to be covering up if we are talking about getting better if we are talking about improving, if we are talking about meeting up to our expectations.
“I think it is the right time we start telling each other the truth. You know. And I think, yes, I said that I would prefer to watch the Premier League on television than watch our NPFL because we are not where we are supposed to be. It hurts to see the effort that we all put in, that nothing has been built on it.
Okocha said that Nigerian football administrators have failed woefully to build on the foundation some of them laid before leaving in search of greener pastures abroad.
On his part, former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has lamented the poor state of the NPFL in comparison with the South African Premier Soccer League, PSL is why Nigerians find it difficult to attend or even watch from home.
Mikel made this assertion during an interview with South African Soccer Laduma.
The PSL, featuring 16 clubs competing from August to May annually, has secured its place as one of the top five leagues in Africa.
The league boasts one of the largest television rights deals with SuperSports, enabling it to generate an impressive $72m in revenue each year.
Mikel, who won the Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles in 2013, pointed out the key factors that elevated the South African league’s status.
“I think it’s not the mentality; it’s your organisation. Your organisation is better than our organisation (NPFL),” he said.
“If you look at the South African League, it is that good where a player doesn’t have to go abroad to make ends meet to help his family.
“It is something we (Nigerian) have been crying out; we want to see our league better, and we know we can get there because we have so much talent. We want to grow and improve the standard of our league. The facilities for these players to go and the younger ones who aspire to play in the Premier League.
“We have to create an environment where they feel comfortable to improve, and that is something they (South Africans) have, and that is pretty much the difference,” he said.
In conclusion, to attract a strong fan base, the national league needs to become as interesting as the international ones that most fans already identify with. This can only be achieved with proper organisation of the league, improving the quality of players in clubs, and improving the quality of stadiums.
–Benprince Ezeh
08068599879
