Sports analysts and stakeholders have called on the Nigerian government at all levels to step back from direct involvement in sports business and focus on creating an enabling environment for private sector investment to drive the industry’s growth.

The English Premier League and the NBA have proven to be significant economic drivers, contributing billions to the UK and US economies, respectively.

An EY report highlighted the Premier League’s substantial impact on the UK economy. During the 2021/22 season, the league and its clubs contributed £8 billion, a £400 million increase from the 2019/20 assessment, demonstrating its continued growth trajectory.

In the United States, the NBA experienced a strong post-pandemic financial recovery. According to Forbes data, the league and its 30 teams generated $10 billion in revenue during the 2021/22 season.

“With a population of over 220 million, including a youthful demographic, Nigeria is primed to become a leading sports hub in Africa, yet its sports industry remains largely untapped,” Aigbogun said.

He explained that the key objective of the conference is to attract local and international investments and create a sustainable pathway for Nigerian sports to thrive.

“This event aims to generate actionable solutions, promote collaboration across sectors, and lay the foundation for Nigeria’s sports industry to contribute significantly to the economy by creating jobs, boosting revenue, and positioning Nigeria as a regional sports powerhouse,” Aigbogun noted.

Seun Fakorede, former commissioner of youth and sports in Oyo State, speaking at a panel session, said the government should have no business doing sports business.

Fakorede emphasised that the fundamental problem facing sports business growth i0n Nigeria is that there is no intentional action given to developing sports by governments.

He called for public-private participation (PPP) to enable the country to create the enabling environment to drive growth.

Fakorede said for grassroots sports to develop, the country must embrace true representation, which must be done intentionally.

Olabisi Makanjuola, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos branch, decried that sports, which should be business at all levels, is not being optimised in Nigeria due to the unprofessional approach given to the ecosystem by governments.

“We need enabling laws to be a sports-friendly country. Tax laws in Nigeria are not friendly,” he said.

He called on the government to put in place sports tribunals where sports issues and cases can be settled without resort to courts of law.

“Lack of certainty of the legal system in Nigeria scares potential investors away,” he noted.

Mozez Praiz, television host/sportscaster at Supersport, speaking about how Nigerian clubs can maximise the business aspect of sports, said the problem is that most clubs do not understand the business of sports.

“Club chairmanship is given as a political compensation as against professionalism. Most of the club administrators don’t have blueprints on how to grow the clubs,” he said.

Praiz explained that to grow a club, the ideal thing is to start with building the fan base, noting that to achieve this, there is a need to give the fans a sense of ownership.

“Until we fix the disconnect between the club managers and the fans, we will continue to struggle. Club managers should take seriously how they brand their persons,” he said.

He pointed out corruption as a cancer eating away the business growth of many clubs.

Amaju Pinnick, former president of Nigeria Football Federation, who was represented by Temisan Okomi, group head at Megaletrics, said that Nigeria’s sports ecosystem remains underdeveloped despite numerous talents available in the land.

“Sporting ecosystem in Nigeria is massively underdeveloped due to lack of infrastructure, inadequate funding, and poor management, among others,” he said.

Pinnick reiterated that although Nigeria once had a booming sports ecosystem, poor management and inadequate funding are the undoing of the sports space in the country.

He said that funding is crucial to growing Nigeria’s sports ecosystem, citing that some years ago, under the leadership of Nduka Irabor, as the chairman of the League Management Company, it took over N300 million to run a local club.

He stressed that Nigeria needs international organisations to help grow its sports business by building structures, providing essential amenities, and promotion.

However, he noted the country must first clean its house for international organisations to come in.