Sports Betting Company Pioneers Nigeria's Sports Infrastructure Transformation

A latest expose by the Nigerian Newspaper, Premium Times, revealed that the sports stadium in Nasarawa State, located in Nigeria's North Central region, is in a critical state of decay, raising worries about the management and functionality of the facility.

In Nasarawa's Lafia city, the sports stadium is abandoned and fully overgrown with grass despite the £233 million (₦477 million) allocated to upgrade the facility in 2021. The poor condition of the sports facility highlights the urgent need for attention to the sports industry. Abandonment cases like this are one of so many creating a troubling pattern in Nigeria, where allocations for sports infrastructure often fail to make an impact due to widespread corruption in the sector.

Although public funds for the construction and maintenance of sports facilities are regularly allocated, a good number of the projects are substandard, unfinished, or non-existent. This results in communities and athletes being deprived of essential resources for growth.

Sports broadcaster, Ayomide Sotubo, explained that corruption remains a stumbling block to boosting greatness in the nation's sports sector, despite the abundance of talent.

"The federal government of Nigeria invested billions of naira into the last Olympics, but no medal was given to the Nigerian teams, how?" he told betting news site SportsBoom.com.

The Nigerian government had budgeted ₦12 billion and had high hopes for Team Nigeria for the Olympics; however, the substandard performance and return of no medals have drawn disappointment on Nigerians' faces.

Sotubo similarly cited the case of the Nigerian cyclist who had to borrow a bike from the German team, which caused a huge outrage on social media. He likened it to the situation in Nigeria, where athletes are unable to train effectively because the necessary infrastructure is not in place, courtesy of the government. 

A Betting Company Comes to Aid

However, some private individuals have tried to invest in improving sports infrastructure across the country. Amongst them is the owner of Bet9ja, one of the big betting companies in Nigeria, Kunle Soname.

To motivate Nigerian athletes and improve the sports industry, he established Remo Stars Stadium located in Ikenne-Remo, in the Southwest of Nigeria, with the capacity to accommodate five thousand spectators.

Many athletes and sports journalists consider the stadium as one of the best in Nigeria because of its high-standard facilities and types of equipment. Its location at the grassroots level has also provided young athletes, especially in underserved communities, with access to sufficient and up-to-date equipment, allowing them to improve their skills.

Speaking about the stadium, Raymond Tolulope, a sports journalist with Splash FM in Ibadan, Nigeria, said it's a great investment by the proprietor, given the lack of standards that Nigerian athletes have been accustomed to.

"We need more sports facilities to enhance sports development. The more facilities we have, the better it is for those interested in sports. To get the best out of sports, we need to invest in it. The lack of proper infrastructure hampers our ability to succeed at events like the Olympics, where we often end up with no medals."