Former FIFA Secretary-General Fatma Samoura has tipped Nigeria to become a major sporting and entertainment hub in Africa. However, this will only happen if the country develops the infrastructure and commercial systems needed to retain its talent.
According to The PUNCH, Samoura said Nigeria possesses a combination of population, talent, passionate sports audiences and creative influence. Few countries on the continent can match this combination.
She argued that the opportunity stretches beyond football to athletics, basketball, combat sports, music, film and fashion.
“Nigeria has something few countries can replicate: scale, talent, a huge and youthful population,” Samoura said.
Infrastructure key to growth
The former FIFA official said Africa’s problem has never been a shortage of sporting talent.
Instead, she identified inadequate training facilities, limited sports science, weak commercial structures and poor pathways from grassroots sport to professional careers as major barriers.
Those challenges, she said, often force African athletes to leave the continent to develop their careers.
Samoura argued that improved infrastructure could keep more jobs, investment, sponsorship and broadcasting revenue within African economies.
Nigeria could host major events
She said Nigeria could develop into a regional centre for major sporting competitions, entertainment productions and talent development.
However, she stressed that stadiums should not be built simply for match days.
Samoura advocated integrated districts incorporating sports facilities, academies, hotels, retail outlets, offices and public spaces. These districts would be capable of generating economic activity throughout the year.
The former FIFA Secretary-General said Africa must stop viewing sport only as entertainment and recognise it as an industry. This industry is capable of creating employment and driving economic growth.
For Nigeria, she said the challenge is now turning its enormous sporting and creative potential into sustainable jobs and long-term value.
