Professional clubs and fandom; a new approach to developing patriotism?

"Let us pray for Sunderland Football Club and our city. Lord our God, help us to understand what football means to our community. Show us how football can help unite. Guide us in our love for our city and our club, for it is a love borne out of passion. Dear lord, help Sunderland and all our players in their ability in all games. Grant them self-belief and a spirit of confidence, because the success of our team leads to the success and prosperity of our city. Amen"

The introduction to the Netflix Original Series "Sunderland Till I Die" showed a Reverand Father at the church praying for his congregation of Sunderland fans. What I find most interesting about the prayer is the realisation that the success of the club translates to the success of the community.

Most of the 20 teams in the English Premier League are named after the cities/communities; the same applies to the teams in different professional leagues in the USA – the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and Major League Baseball (MLB). More often than not, fan following stems from where you are born. That is where your life long relationship starts, and that is the very foundation of association and a shared identity.

A similar sense of association can also be seen within tertiary institutions, especially the Ivy League schools. Alumni seem to connect with Alma Maters long after they graduate and treat fellow alumni with mutual respect no matter the year they left school. This is, perhaps why people still buy and wear school merchandise - Harvard, Yale, MIT - decades after they've left school and want their kids to attend same school; why people talk about Cambridge and Oxford long after they've left the United Kingdom; and why people sing Great Ife's anthem during some Nigerian weddings; a sense of association and a shared identity.

However, because people are only in school for a short period and it connects only the respective graduating classes, institutions might not have the same communal effect that sports teams have. Sport teams connect everyone in the community regardless of age, gender, profession, and social class. Also people stay in communities longer than they stay in institutions. Therefore, it is a safe assumption that, although both impactful, sport connects people more than schools do. This deep connection between sports clubs and communities is one thing that has been eroded in Nigeria; a sense of association and a shared identity.

Many times, Nigerians are accused of not being patriotic enough and not having a sense of association and responsibility to this great nation. According to Cynado, C & Ezeogidi, Cynado. (2019) , this unpatriotic character is evident in both the leaders and the followers. In his article in The Guardian, Gbenga Adebambo accused Nigerians of being unpatriotic in our consumption pattern and choices.  Patriotism itself, as defined by Ezeogidi Cynado (2007) is as “an act of supporting ones community, his immediate environment or to a larger extent his country". A patriot is one who not only supports his community but has a strong and unflinching support and desire to propel the will of development of his community and of course to defend and uphold the integrity and the progress of the community as well as the content of the community. So when Nigerian are accused of not being patriotic, it means they don't feel attached and committed to the country; no sense of association or a shared identity.

There have been various initiatives in the country to promote build this commitment both for economics, and socio-political reason. Campaign such as "Great People, Great Nation”, "Buy Naija to Grow the Naira" do not seem to have worked efficiently in making people connect with the country more. Perhaps, it is time to consider using professional sports organisations as a tool.

When considering the how sports teams connect with their community from their names, there are different categories. Some bear the name of the state they represent - Akwa United, Kano Pillars, Enugu Rangers, Plateau United in the NPFL and Gombe Bulls, Bauchi Nets, Bauchi Nets, Kwara Falcons etc. in the basketball league. Some do not bear the name of the state but associate themselves with the city such as Enyimba International Football Club of Aba, Sunshine Stars of Akure, and Shooting Stars Sport Club of Ibadan. An emerging category is the clubs bearing the names of smaller communities within a State - Gbagada FC, Abuja Metro FC, Alimsho FC. Not so long ago, Hon Akin Alabi shared his plans of launching Lekki FC .

Regardless of the category they belong to, unlocking patriotism in Nigeria might lie in the ability of these professional clubs to connect with the communities they operate in, build a fan base with a strong sense of commitment and attachment to the club and community. With the hope that is commitment will transcend beyond sports and will evolve into community development, political engagement and perhaps nation building. Perhaps, if the average Nigeria is attached and committed to his/her community as a result of a sport club, that can be extended to the nation at large. It will take a long time but it has to start somewhere.

The sport organisations can also help by understanding the role they play in community development and nation building. They need to become the glue that holds the community and larger society together. But the responsibility does not fall solely on them. It is a shared between them, the organisers of the league they play in and the Government.

First step is for the club to identify with the community whose name they bear. This means playing within the community. In 2015, Ikorodu United gained promotion into the Nigeria Professional Football League but played their games at the Onikan Stadium after which the club relocated to Abeokuta, Ogun State. Also, Gbagada FC, a National Nationwide League team, plays its games at the Legacy Pitch within the National Stadium, Surulere. These are few examples of identity mismatch, and these clubs are not to be blamed for this as there is a huge shortage of sports infrastructure and standard facilities within the communities and they are oftentimes forces to settle with the available and affordable option. An immediate alternative is to ensure that, even if they don’t play within the community, clubs create programmes to engage member of the community like Gbagada FC did with the Blue Eagles Connect and its COVID-19 relief package for community members.

Community infrastructure is an area where the Government has a part to play. Priority and incentives should be given for sport infrastructure development within the communities especially for professional clubs, so the clubs can have their home ground and games within the community. These incentives could vary from free land, contribution to development costs, exclusivity deals with property developers or other forms. This will not just be considered as sport development but investment in nation building.

Bode Oguntuyi once wrote that football in Nigeria needs a new set of fans, and Drake said, “When you give a city something, they are going to make it into everything”. Maybe these new fans and a renewed committed to their cities through sport clubs can become the foundation of a new patriotic Nigeria.

"Somethings are meant to be/Take my hand, take my whole life too.For I can't help, falling love with you" – Elvis Presley, 1961