[5] Nigeria has one of the finest national teams in Africa and has produced many notable footballers including Mudashiru Lawal, Rashidi Yekini, Jay Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo, Mikel John Obi and Victor Osimhen.

[13] During this time in African history, many nations began to partake in nationalist movements where they protested colonial power.

In Nigeria, football gave citizens a sense of national pride and inspired them to achieve political freedom.

[14] An individual named Nnamdi Azikiwe played a critical role in helping Nigeria achieve its freedom from Britain.

[20] To spread his ideas and popularize the game of football, Azikiwe went on numerous tours across Nigeria during the war.

This newspaper popularized the game of football in Nigeria and made it a crucial aspect of the nation's identity.

The Nigeria national football team played their first international match against Sierra Leone in Freetown on 8 October 1949.

[29] Nigeria's Flying Eagles qualified for the first time to represent Africa in the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico.

The victory took Nigerian youth football to a high pedestal, setting the stage for a respect of Nigeria in international competitions.

The under-20 team went to Saudi Arabia for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship and lost narrowly in the final to Portugal.

The team pulled off the now-legendary "Miracle of Damman", erasing a 4–0 deficit to the Soviet Union to tie and then win the match by penalties.

The same poll found that 28% of Nigerians listed Chelsea as their favourite football club, followed by Manchester United (23%) and Arsenal (21%).