Nigerian football fans were given a lift that was badly needed last week when it was announced that the Nigerian Professional Football League season would go ahead next month. According to Nigerian site Leadership: “The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has approved the proposal by the League Management Company (LMC) to commence the 2020/2021 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) on Sunday, November 15, 2020, and end the season by June 2021.” The full season would be subject to the adherence of strict Covid-19 protocols. On that front, Nigeria has done better than most. They recorded their biggest case numbers at the start of July, the peak being 790 in one day, not disastrous for a country of 196 million people. And while Europe battens down the hatches with lockdown gathering pace across the continent, Nigeria has, as of yet, avoided a second wave. Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted on October 29: “Looking at the trends in the other countries, we must do all we can to avert a second wave of Covid-19 in Nigeria. We must make sure that our cases, which have gone down, do not rise again. Our economy is too fragile to bear another round of lockdown.” Covid-19 isn’t the only issue Nigeria contends with.
Protests and violence have made up international headlines about Nigeria in recent weeks. Sports stars like Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo have done their bit to ensure those who didn’t read the news were aware of what was happening in the country. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a terrifyingly aggressive police force, shot and killed unarmed citizens protesting about the state of the country, cueing an #EndSars movement that took over social media across the globe. Nigeria has plenty of problems that require urgent attention. While sport is a trivial distraction, for many it will be a welcome one at a difficult time.
Indeed, even if the NPFL season was delayed, the country is full of football fans who are gripped by action on other shores. The English Premier League has many fans in Nigeria, a fair percentage of whom like to bet on the games that they watch. This interest in gambling has allowed bookmakers to both establish a presence in Nigeria and to grow. Nigerian punters are no longer restricted to one or two betting sites. They have at least six trustworthy bookmakers and all of them offer enticing bonuses to new customers.
Deciding which offer to go with can be tricky but there are tools on hand to make that decision easier. Sites like Sporty Trader compile and review the best betting offers available to punters depending on their region. For example, they dig into the six most famous betting sites offers in Nigeria in their latest review. Often these bonus promotions offer to match the initial deposit of new customers. The better offers go, as one would expect, higher on how much they are willing to match. Marathonbet, for example, offers to match to a maximum deposit of ₦15000. However, this is by no means the best offer. Check those out before starting an account.
