Sports is no longer just about talent and passion—it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry driven by data, innovation, and strategic investment. Across the world, leagues and clubs are leveraging big data, AI, and analytics to enhance player performance, deepen fan engagement, and unlock new revenue streams.
In Nigeria, where football reigns supreme and basketball, combat sports, and e-sports are rising, the shift toward data-driven decision-making is reshaping the industry. From fan behaviour insights to AI-powered scouting and digital sponsorship activations, the future of Nigerian sports lies in technology, analytics, and smart investments.
How can stakeholders—investors, policymakers, and sports organisations—harness this transformation to fuel long-term growth? The answer lies in embracing data as the ultimate game-changer.
State of the global sports industry
The global sports industry is poised for 8.7 percent growth over the next 3-5 years, up from 6.6 percent in 2023, according to PwC’s 2025, despite economic and geopolitical uncertainties. This optimism is fuelled by the transforming media landscape, the rise of women’s sports, and the increasing role of sports sponsorship markets.
The global sports industry is experiencing steady growth, with commercial sponsorships (7.5%), betting rights (7.8%), and team valuations (7.5%) leading revenue expansion. Nigeria’s sports sector can capitalise on these trends by enhancing fan engagement, securing sponsorships, and investing in digital media rights. Ticketing and hospitality (6.9%) and merchandising (6.8%) also present untapped opportunities, requiring improved stadium experiences and strong brand merchandising.
The global sports investment landscape is undergoing a transformation, driven by institutional investors, athlete-backed funds, and private equity firms. Investment is shifting toward premium sports assets, sports technology, and women’s sports, which are attracting record funding. Sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms are leading investors, prioritising strategic growth partnerships over passive ownership. The rise of joint ventures and minority stake acquisitions reflects a trend toward risk-sharing as asset valuations increase. While institutional investors focus on high-value assets such as franchises and leagues, industry leaders emphasise the need for revenue diversification and digital transformation to sustain long-term growth.
Additionally, sports teams and leagues are partnering with dedicated sports investment funds, such as Arctos Partners and Otro Capital, to unlock value in emerging markets.
However, market challenges persist. Media rights revenue is expected to grow at a slower rate, with divergence between premium and non-premium sports properties. The legalisation of sports betting in 38 U.S. states and record-breaking attendance at women’s sports events highlight emerging investment opportunities.
Africa’s sport market
Africa’s sports industry presents high-growth potential but remains underfunded due to limited investor confidence and infrastructure gaps. While global investment in women’s sports and digital engagement is rising, African leagues still struggle with monetisation, weak sponsorship structures, and low media rights value. However, in Africa and Nigeria, the industry faces unique challenges and opportunities. While global sports media rights are expanding, African leagues struggle with low broadcast revenue and piracy issues. However, the surge in digital streaming and sports betting presents a major economic opportunity.
To maximise growth, African sports organisations must adopt data-driven strategies, enhance media monetisation, and modernise infrastructure. With the right investments, Nigeria’s sports industry can unlock new revenue streams and compete effectively in the global sports economy.
Nigeria’s sporting landscape.
The global sports investment climate is shifting, with institutional investors, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds driving the growth of premium sports assets, sports tech, and women’s sports. However, in Nigeria, the industry faces a different reality—one marked by infrastructure deficits, underfunded leagues, and low monetisation of media rights.
In Nigeria, football remains dominant, but other sports like basketball, athletics, and combat sports are gaining traction. Even though the nation’s football ecosystem dominates the landscape, funding remains limited compared to global standards. The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) struggles with inconsistent sponsorship deals and low broadcast revenue, unlike European leagues that thrive on lucrative media rights. The rise of digital streaming platforms and sports betting presents a viable investment pathway, as seen with the growth of Bet9ja and SportyBet.
Despite rising corporate sponsorships, a lack of structured investments, media rights monetisation, and sports infrastructure limit market growth. However, streaming services, sports betting, and digital fan engagement are emerging as viable revenue streams.
To maximise growth and attract investment, Nigeria’s sports ecosystem must embrace data-driven decision-making, transparency, private-sector investments, and commercialisation strategies to unlock the full economic potential of sports in the country.
Harnessing fan data: The key to revenue growth in Nigerian sports.
Sports fans love to watch their teams live in stadiums or online. However, for most sporting organisations in Nigeria, this is where fan interaction and data collection stop. In contrast, leading sports teams worldwide invest heavily in enhancing data collection, storage, and processing capabilities to unlock deeper insights and revenue streams. Extant data shows that most sporting brands in Africa generate over 80 percent of their insights from just 20 percent of their fans, meaning they lack comprehensive data collection to maximise engagement and monetisation opportunities.
The willingness to pay for sports content declines with age, with younger demographics (16-34) being the most willing to subscribe, as evident from the figure below. In Nigeria, where a youthful population dominates the sports fan base, monetisation through digital subscriptions and pay-per-view models could thrive. However, affordability and alternative free content sources may limit adoption. Older demographics (45+) show higher resistance, indicating a need for alternative revenue strategies like sponsorships and ad-supported content. To maximise revenues, Nigerian sports entities should focus on engaging younger fans through affordable, tailored digital packages while leveraging sponsorships for less subscription-prone audiences.
To bridge this gap, data aggregation is crucial. By integrating multiple datasets—from ticketing, memberships, stadium activities, and merchandise sales—sports organisations can unify fan touchpoints and uncover new behavioural patterns. This will allow for better segmentation, enabling teams and sponsors to tailor personalised experiences and engagement strategies.
Comprehensive fan databases enable sports organisations to customise experiences, leading to increased attendance, higher viewership, and improved sponsorship deals. However, as of 2025, many Nigerian sports entities lack robust data infrastructure, limiting their ability to capitalise on these opportunities.
To address this, implementing data clean rooms can facilitate secure data collaboration between sports organisations and sponsors. These environments allow for anonymised data analysis, ensuring privacy while providing real-time insights. For example, a Nigerian football league could share fan engagement metrics with a beverage sponsor, helping both parties evaluate and optimise their partnership without compromising individual fan privacy. Adopting such technologies can position Nigerian sports organisations to demonstrate better value and ROI to potential sponsors, aligning with global trends in data-driven sports marketing.
When used correctly, fan insights can enable sports brands and stakeholders to create tailored experiences and personalised marketing that drive significant revenue growth. According to PwC’s Global Sports Survey 2024, personalised marketing strategies can drive fan rewards 4-7 times more per year compared to non-personalised interactions. Additionally, emotionally relevant content is five times more likely to influence engagement and decision-making.
To fully harness these benefits, Nigerian sports entities must invest in data-driven infrastructure, build fan databases, and adopt innovative technologies. This approach not only enhances fan engagement but also unlocks new revenue streams through targeted sponsorships and improved media deals, securing the future growth of Nigeria’s sports industry.
