Revitalizing the Nigerian Sports Industry

The business of sports is as lucrative as it is entertaining, contributing largely to the GDPs of countries that have invested in the industry. According to ‘Price water house Coopers’, the North American sports industry generated $60.5 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach $73.5 billion by 2019. Sources of revenue include merchandising, sponsorship, media rights and gate receipts, which is the biggest source of revenue. In Europe, the sports industry’s contribution to the European economy accounts for 1.76% – or about 175 billion Euros – of European Gross Value Added (which is Gross Domestic Product + subsidies – (direct, sales) taxes), according to Sportyjob, Europe’s online sports job market. Nigeria is a nation with a growing population of about 180 million people, home to well over 300 hundred ethnic groups and 500 tribes. Despite our tremendous differences, we still find coherence on a lot of issues, one of which is our unmatched interest in Sports, which has been a major unifying factor, cutting through political, ethnic or even religious divides. For a nation that has just recently come out of recession, especially with current unemployment rates and a yearly growth in the number of unemployed graduates,  It’s safe to say that the government would need to consider Sports as a means of economic diversification. The numbers have proven the revenue generating power of this industry if we invest in it. As a nation, we do not have have a working sports system yet, so until this system is put in order, any talk on the development of this sector would be futile. At the last Nigerian Economic Summit held this year, Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), talked about the limitless possibilities for Nigeria in the Sports sector, however, the government needs to create a working environment for sports industry to thrive. “Twenty-five years ago, the British government invested £200 million in the Premier League and today, the EPL is worth £8 billion. If we create enabling environment with proper structure, sports can contribute significantly to Nigeria’s GDP more than any other sector.” Today, the average Nigerian pays Cable tv subscription fees to view these international competitions, and this accrues to the economic growth of the host country. The Sports Industry in Nigeria can be bigger than any other sector and generate even more revenue, but to get to this point we must first put a lot in place.

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This article was first published on 22nd September 2017

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