Golf, handball and poker are booming as Nigerian sports fans look beyond football

Nigeria has always been a nation of sports fans, from both a participatory perspective and as spectators. But over the past 30 years or so, sport has, to a large extent, equated to football. Yes, basketball, boxing and track sports are popular too, but football is without doubt the nation’s sport.

Football’s supremacy is not going to change any time soon and will be bolstered by a new 10-year Master Plan that was unveiled last year. However, football is facing increasing amounts of competition for our attention as other sports that had only minority interest in the 20^th century gain real traction among millennial and Generation-Z sports enthusiasts in Nigeria. Let’s take a look at some examples.

Golf

In the golfing heartlands of USA, UK and mainland Europe, all the talk concerns the lack of youngsters taking up the sport. Perhaps they need to speak to Johnbull Dangofa, the Director of Tournaments at PGA Nigeria. Golf is the fastest growing sport in the country, and critically, it has captured the attention of young Nigerians. At a recent Pro-Am event at the Arsenal Golf Club, Mr Dangofa said golf is “helping to curb youths’ restiveness.” He added that 3,000 Nigerians make a living from golf, a figure that is growing with every passing year.

Poker

40 years ago, the classification of poker as a sport might have raised some eyebrows. That is no longer the case in the 2020s. The World Series of Poker has made stars of top pro players like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Selbst. Not everyone can simply turn up at Las Vegas to try their luck, but the widespread availability of online poker has made the pro poker scene accessible to all. Finding a safe and reliable platform is key. For example, you might have seen it advertised, but it is still fair to ask is Americas Cardroom a legal place to play online poker? Independent poker platform review sites like Legal US Poker Sites have all the answers you need.

Handball

No, we don’t mean professional fouls in football. In simple terms, handball is like football – but played with the hands instead of feet. It originates from central Europe and is most popular in Germany – but its popularity is rapidly growing in Nigeria. The sport has excellent grass roots support from the Handball Federation of Nigeria.

Rugby

Rugby is growing faster than any other sport across the continent of Africa, and Nigeria is certainly playing a significant role in its rising profile. 20 years ago, only six African nations participated seriously in African rugby. Today, Rugby Africa has 37 member nations. The Nigerian Rugby Football Federation comprises 26 clubs and there are almost 8,000 registered players, male and female. Rugby is a massively popular spectator sport, too, and Nigerian rugby fans are as passionate as the Welsh and New Zealanders. In fact, penetration of rugby fans in Nigeria is second only to South Africa, a nation that has been a world leader in rugby for decades.