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Religion and folklore |
Football is largely consideredNigeria's national sport, and the country has its ownprofessional football league.Basketball is the second sport of Nigeria.[1]
Physical education was made part ofcolonial Nigeria's educational curriculum in the 19th century. During this time,indigenous sports faded away while structured European activities such asfootball, which helped to bridge the gap between the British rulers and the local population,[2] grew.[3]
Other than football,basketball,handball andvolleyball are also prominent in the Nigerian sports sector.[4]Indigenous games such asloofball,dambe andayo also have significant popularity among youths in Nigeria. Loofball involves two teams of five, a ball, and a net. It is played by tossing the ball over the net to the opposing team's side of the court.[5] After July 2021, the sport has been administered by the LSDI (Loofball Sports Development Initiative).[6]
TheNigerian national football team,[7] nicknamed the "Super Eagles", is the national team of Nigeria, run by theNigeria Football Federation (NFF). According to theFIFA World Rankings, Nigeria ranks 42nd and holds the sixth-highest place among the African nations. The highest position Nigeria ever reached on the ranking was 5th, in April 1994. Supporters ofEnglish football clubs likeManchester United,Arsenal,Manchester City,Liverpool andChelsea often segregate beyond the traditional tribal and even religious divide to share their common cause inPremier League teams.
Nigeria's national basketball team made the headlines internationally when it became the first African team to beat theUnited States men's national team.[8] In earlier years, Nigeria qualified for the2012 Summer Olympics as it beat heavily favoured world elite teams such asGreece andLithuania.[9] Nigeria has been home to numerous internationally recognised basketball players in the world's top leagues in America, Europe and Asia. These players includeBasketball Hall of FamerHakeem Olajuwon, and later players in theNBA. TheNigerian Premier League has become one of the biggest and most-watched basketball competitions in Africa. The games have aired onKwese TV and have averaged a viewership of over a million people.[10]
Nigeria made history by qualifying the firstbobsled team for theWinter Olympics from Africa when their women's two-person team qualified forthe bobsled competition at the XXIII Olympic Winter Games.[11]
In 2018, the Nigerian Curling Federation was established to introduce a new sport to the country in order to make the game part of the curriculum at the elementary, high school, and university levels. At the2019 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Norway, Nigeria won their first international match beating France 8–5.[12]
Nigeria's women's and men's national teams inbeach volleyball competed at the2018–2020 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.[13] The country's U21 national teams qualified for the 2019FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships.[14]
