Nigeria is referred to as the giant of Africa and this is not just because the nation is packed with a lot of human and natural resources, it is also because Nigeria is a country that is very much interested in sports and participates in some of the sports in the world. The country has raised a lot of talents in football, boxing and athletics among other sports.
For people interested in being sportspersons, below are some of the sports that you will definitely get a tough time making it to the top especially if you are hoping to profit from it:
Football
There is no denying the fact that the most popular sport in the African continent especially in Nigeria is football. Many young Nigerians have the dream of becoming the next best Nigerian football star like Jay-Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, and many like them. Street football is very rampant in every corner of the nation, at every turn you make, you are likely to find young boys playing football and those who cannot afford one usually use polythene products to form something in the shape of a football.
Street football gets big sometimes that each street come together to play inter-street competitions and they usually demand cash from each street team which is then put together at the end of the day and given to the team that wins the competition.
Boxing
Boxing is another very popular sport in Nigeria in fact, we have a lot of people who are boxers in the country. One popular Nigerian boxer is Bash Ali and he like many other professional boxers in the country work hard to make sure they can enter into the Olympic competition. However, boxing is not as appreciated as football is in Nigeria and this is why the country is not so much interested in making available the necessary training equipment for them to become better boxers.
Basketball
The love for basketball is gradually growing in Nigeria recently compared to before. For in times past, the standard courts and other equipments for training were not available to push the game into the interest of Nigerians and this was because even those who participated in the game before were not good enough when it came to playing in competitions and so when their equipments went bad, the government was not ready to replace them.
Presently, Nigeria has been doing well in basketball competitions and the game is now gaining a presence among the other sports played in the country. Public as well as private institutions of learning especially the universities, have basketball training courts and kits as well as other equipments that are needed for a basketball game. Now, even certain corporations in Nigeria organize clinics where professional basketball players train young children to play the game.
Running
Nigeria is quite taken with athletics in general especially in sprinting. Even when schools do not have basketball courts, you’ll find that it is almost impossible for athletic events to not be held among the other sporting activities in schools, in other words, it is a very vital part of the school’s sports curriculum. In the Olympics, Nigeria participates actively in the athletic events especially running. Truth be told, we’re not so great at swimming that is why we don’t perform well in the swimming competitions but count on Nigeria to do pretty well in Long Jump, Sprint.
The Common Wealth Games is another arena where Nigerians get to display their ability to really run. There are many people who train and work hard to get the chance to be selected to represent the nation in these games as only the best will be selected.
Dancing
Dancing has gone past being a fun activity these days as it is now considered as an exercising activity and even a sport. Young adults and sometimes even actual adults from various parts of the country take part in the many dancing competitions that are held in the country. The organizers of this dance competitions are some major companies in the country. For example, Maltina – a bottled drink producing company – used to organized a dance competition in Nigeria and the competition was called Maltina Dance All. Another company was Malta Guiness that organized Malta Guiness Dance for Africa.
These competitions test the ability of the dancers to dance to African Afrobeats, Hip Hop, Ballroom dance and other forms of dancing. People who participate in these competitions include: crews of secondary school students, crews of students in universities, and families.
