Changing the game in Nigeria? Appropriating Internet and web 2.0 for sport communication

Abstract

Historically, sports journalists have been the ones who predominately shape and define dominant narrative discourse of local and global sports. But, with the advent of social media and internet technologies, this is no longer the case. The digital media technologies now allow athletes, fans and sports organizations to impose their own narrative frames on sporting events in the real time. This has changed the tenor and tone of sport communication. With Shooting Stars Sports club of Ibadan, a legendary and pacesetter football club in Nigeria, as its case study, this paper examines why and how football clubs are appropriating social media and web technologies for information dissemination and live match commentaries in the Nigerian context.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Boyle, Sport Journalism.

2. Lasorsa, Lewis, and Holton, ‘Normalizing Twitter’.

3. Hutchins, ‘Acceleration of Media Sport Culture’, 243–4.

4. Hermida, ‘From TV to Twitter’.

5. Ibid., online.

6. Hynes, ‘Jaynus! Is Janno a Bird?’; Steensen, ‘Conversing the Fans’; Ruddock, Hutchins, and Rowe, ‘Contradictions in Media Sport Culture’; and Rowe, Ruddock, and Hutchins, ‘Cultures of Complaints’.

7. Khan, Why Manchester United Football Club; Richelieu and Pons, ‘Toronto Maple Leafs’.

8. Hardin and Zhong, From Outside the Press Box; Jones and Himelboim, ‘Just a Guy in Pagamas’; and Hutchins and Rowe, ‘Reconfiguring Media Sport’.

9. Sheffer and Schultz, ‘The New World of Social Media’; Sherwood and Nicholson, ‘Web 2.0 Platforms’.

10. Price, Farrington, and Hall, ‘Changing the Game’.

11. Originally, the history of 3SC could be traced back to the 1950s when it started out as a recreational football club of Western Nigerian Development Corporation (WNDC), a government owned Limited Liability Company. It was formed by the company’s European expatriates. However, the club’s recreational status changed to a professional status when an Ibadan indigene, business entrepreneur and ‘flamboyant football enthusiast named Lekan Salami became a director of the WNDC in the 1960s; his interest in the Ibadan District Amateur Football Association found a natural outlet in promoting the football team’ (Adesokan, ‘Ibadan, Soutin and the Puzzle’, 66). Salami was one of the club’s patrons and core financiers until his untimely death in 1988 at the age of 60.

12. On its website, the Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) ranks 3SC among the top 30 football clubs in Africa based on its achievements in the continental club competitions.

13. Alegi, African Soccerscapes; Boer, ‘Football, Mobilization and Protest’.

14. In the cases whereby there was no live telecast on television, there were delayed broadcast same day.

15. Musa, ‘Political Economy of Football Viewership’, 265.

16. Ibid.

17. Nigerian sport commentators such as Ishola Folorunsho, Ernest Okonkwo, Tolu Fatoyinbo and Sebastian Offurum were considered ‘oracles of God’ by many Nigerian fans.

18. Vansina (1985: 34) cited in Alegi, African Soccerscapes, 58.

19. By wide popularity and extensive media coverage, local football in Nigeria assumed the symbolic status of ‘a religion and deity with a cult following to which all social categories – including, of course, boys – must pay obeisance, worship or kowtow as votaries at its hallowed altar’ (Tsaaior, ‘Football as Social Unconscious’, 276).

20. Okonjo-Iweala, Reforming the Unreformable.

21. Aliyu and Usman, ‘Econometric Study of External Debt’, 73.

22. Okonjo-Iweala, Reforming the Unreformable, 4.

23. Aliyu and Usman, ‘Econometric Study of External Debt’.

24. Onwumechili, ‘Nigerian Football’.

25. Elegalem, ‘Economic Factors’.

26. Onwumechili, ‘Nigeria: Equivocating while Opening’, 126.

27. Prior to 1992, federal and state government owned all the radio and television stations in Nigeria. This was the trend since the industry began in the colonial era. Specifically, radio broadcasting began in Nigeria in 1932 as part of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)’s empire service. The empire service was established ‘to integrate all British colonies with the imperial authority … It was only in 1950 that the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) was properly established as a government department’ (Esan, Nigerian Television, 32). Radio was the forerunner to the television. The television broadcasting service began in 1959 when the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, nationalist leader and premier of the Western region of Nigeria, established Western Nigerian Television Service (WNTV) in Ibadan.

28. Onwumechili, ‘Nigeria, Football’.

29. Ojo, ‘Cultural Imperialism’; and Raufu, ‘See What Globalisation has’.

30. Seteolu, ‘Is European Football New Imperialism?’ National Mirror, June 1, 2011, http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/category/commentaries/.

31. Akindes, Football Bars

32. Vokes, Arsenal in Bugamba

33. Kasali, ‘Empty Stands’. See also Busari, ‘European Clubs’ Popularity’ for additional perspectives on the Nigerian fans’ passion for the European league.

34. Golding and Harris, ‘Introduction’, 7.

35. Tsaaior, ‘Football as Social Unconscious’.

36. Akindes, ‘Football Bars’, 2179.

37. Onwumechili, ‘Nigeria, Football’; Ojo, ‘Cultural Imperialism’.

38. Boyle and Haynes, Power Play.

39. The club changed its name from IICC (Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation) Shooting Stars to Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) in the late 1980s. This was the club’s second name change. The first name changed occurred in the 1970s when it changed its name changed from the WNDC football club to IICC Shooting Stars.

40. 3SC Website.

41. Thompson, Ideology and Modern Culture, 61–2.

42. Rowe and Stevenson, 2006 cited in Ruddock, Hutchins, and Rowe, ‘Contradictions in Media Sports’, 331.

43. Elebeke, ‘Nigeria Climbs Up’.

44. Bruns and Burgess, ‘Researching News Discussion’, 1.

45. The Nation, ‘Shooting Stars New Boy’; Oyostate Sportsnews, ‘5000 Ibadan Fans’.

46. This figure is obtained from the television interview that Tilewa Adebajo, Chairman of Stationary Stores of Lagos, did on Lagos, Nigeria-based Channels Television. The excerpt of the interview is posted on Youtube. Below is the reference to the interview ‘Football is a business’ YouTube, 8.00 min. Posted by Channels Television, August 13, 2014, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eYFw5WHr_c.

47. After the study was conducted in 2012/2013, 3SC signed a new jersey deal with another local sportwear company, Cone Sportswear. Hence, for the 2015 league season, 3SC wears Cone made jersey. Also, the website was changed from www.shootingstarssc.net to www.shootingstars3sc.com.  Due to internal administrative changes, there was an on-going discussion to change the team's Twitter account as well.

48. Although Tilewa was speaking in the context of Stationary Stores, the experience seems to be applicable to other clubs as well.

49. Mberu and Pongou, ‘Nigeria: Multiple forms of Mobility’; Haas, ‘International Migration’.

50. Carey, Communication as Culture, 15.

51. Hutchins, ‘Acceleration of Media Sport Culture’, 240.