| Football in Nigeria | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Nigeria vs Argentina friendly match line up in 2018 | |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Governing body | Nigeria Football Federation |
| National team(s) | national football team |
| First played | 1904 |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
Football is the most popular sport in Nigeria.[1][2][3][4] The Nigeria national football team competes regularly for international titles and many Nigerian footballers compete in Europe, particularly in England.[5] Nigeria has one of the finest national teams in Africa and has produced many notable footballers including Mudashiru Lawal, Rashidi Yekini, Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo, Mikel John Obi and Victor Osimhen.[6][7]
Polling shows the majority of Nigerians watch international and domestic football. Due to the number of Nigerian players in the English Premier League and the fact that Nigeria is an English-speaking country, the majority of Nigerians support an English club. The most popular football clubs in Nigeria are Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.[8] Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona are also popular among Nigerians.[9]
- ^ OlaOlorun, Funmilola M.; Odimegwu, Clifford Obby; Makinde, Olusesan Ayodeji (1 December 2018). "A unique opportunity to use football to improve birth registration awareness and completeness in Nigeria". Br J Sports Med. 52 (23): 1529–1530. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2016-097404. PMC 6241617. PMID 28455365 – via bjsm.bmj.com.
- ^ "The Passion For Football In Nigeria". The Nigerian Blogger. May 17, 2022.
- ^ Walker, Andrew (2008-07-28). "Africa | Is Premier League killing Nigerian football?". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ Category: Weekend. "Guardian News Website - Dwindling fortunes of Nigeria's premier league". Ngrguardiannews.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ Doyle, Paul (2013-10-29). "Why is Nigeria the world's toughest league in which to get an away win? | Paul Doyle | Football". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
- ^ "How World Cup 1994 set the tone for future of Nigerian football". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "World Cup Special: Just How Good were Nigeria in 1994? - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
noiwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Five Most Popular European Clubs In Nigeria – Independent Newspaper Nigeria". 2022-12-28. Retrieved 2024-10-18.