American Football touches down in Nigeria.

Record ID: 104230

  • Title: American Football touches down in Nigeria.
  • Date: 11th May 2016
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF FANS HOLDING UP PAPERS WRITTEN "I SUPPORT LAGOS MARINES" (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAGOS MARINES PLAYER, ADESINA PELUMI SAYING: "The basic thing American Football is doing for we Nigerians as youths is that it controls aggression, if you notice we have lot of people that are really angry and if you can channel that anger to playing a sport, I don't think we should have any issue when it comes to security in Nigeria." VARIOUS OF GAME/ LAGOS MARINES SCORE FINAL TOUCHDOWN AND WIN/ PLAYERS CELEBRATING (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABU TITANS PLAYER, PAUL SHEKARAU SAYING: "This is the first time this game is played in Nigeria you understand, this is the first and we got here we least expected people will give us this support down here we actually impressed even though we have been defeated but I believe this is a lesson. We are coming back here, we are coming back, this is the beginning of American Football in Nigeria." VARIOUS OF LAGOS MARINES POSING FOR A GROUP PHOTO FANS CHEERING
  • Embargoed: 26th May 2016 09:45
  • Keywords: USA Football Soccer Players New sport Youth Training
  • Location: LAGOS, NIGERIA
  • City: LAGOS, NIGERIA
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: American Football,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0054HD5U1J
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Helmets by their side and shoulders padded high, players from rival teams prepare to clash in a game of American Football at the Campos Mini stadium in Lagos.
    In soccer-mad Nigeria, American Football, a sport usually played thousands of miles away in the United States, is slowly winning over new fans.
    The West African country this year hosted what organisers said were its first two games with its two amateur American Football teams, the Lagos Marines and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Titans, battling it out on the pitch.
    Before the first game at the Titans' home ground in northern Kaduna state in March, few Nigerians had heard of either team. A month later in the commercial capital, Lagos, dozens of fans waved banners and cheered in support.
    "I think I have enjoyed it, it is not exactly the NFL (National Football League) or college football but you know, for a first effort, this is not bad at all," said sports journalist Colin Udoh.
    With no official game structure in place, the two matches were one offs, but the teams are hopeful Nigeria could one day have a league for the sport just like soccer.
    The ABU Titans have been training for several years, holding inhouse matches.
    In Lagos, German coach Dominick Muller founded the Marines in late 2013, recruiting players more used to soccer, basketball and volleyball.
    One of them was Adesina Pelumi who started playing American Football two years ago.
    "I played basketball initially but we had this camp, that is Ejike Ugbaja's camp and I had the attributes of playing American Football because I could throw the ball and also play well so I was told to try out then, I tried out and here we are still playing American Football," he said at the gym where he trains with other players.
    The Marines train four times a week. With no major sponsor, it was Muller who paid for some 65 kits at a cost of 250 US dollars per player, Pelumi added.
    Raising awareness of the sport in a country where the NFL is rarely followed is a challenge, but Pelumi believes developing the sport could play a role tackling Nigeria's mass youth unemployment, which experts worry could create social problems and raise the risk that young people turn to radical groups.
    "The basic thing American Football is doing for we Nigerians as Youths is that it controls aggression, if you notice we have lot of people that are really angry and if you can channel that anger to playing a sport I don't think we should have any issue when it comes to security in Nigeria," said Adesina.
    The Lagos Marines won the match 18 - 0, surprising a more experienced ABU.
    "This is the first time this game is played in Nigeria you understand, this is the first and we got here. We least expected people will give us this support down here. We are actually impressed even though we have been defeated but I believe this is a lesson. We are coming back here, we are coming back, this is the beginning of American Football in Nigeria," said Titans player Paul Bakwak.
    It may not catch up to soccer any time soon but with a growing fan base, American Football is feeding the passion and appetite for competitive sport that is not new to Nigerians.
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