Experts release maiden Nigeria Sports Industry Outlook, call for reforms

A new report offers insights into Nigeria’s sports economy, outlining trends, gaps and areas for potential growth.

Rapids Sports & Entertainment, DMPartners and Metis Craton have announced the release of the first edition of the annual Nigeria Sports Industry Outlook, a report designed to document a review of the past year and expectations for the year ahead.

Co-curator, Tonte Davies, described the publication as an important step towards providing structured insight into the sector.

“The 2026 Nigeria Sports Industry Outlook Report is a defining document for the sports sector. It provides a clear lens into the future of sports in Nigeria —highlighting investment opportunities, addressing structural challenges, and reinforcing the urgent need to position sports as a sustainable business. For stakeholders across the value chain, it serves as both a guide and a call to action.”

He added that the report is available via the official LinkedIn pages of the three co-producers.

The Nigeria Sports Industry Outlook 2026 is presented as a strategic intelligence and reference document for investors, policymakers, business leaders and practitioners seeking to better understand areas where capital, partnerships and innovation may support growth across the sports ecosystem.

Adedamilola Adedotun, also a co-curator, said the initiative seeks to address gaps in available information about the sector.

“We are very bullish about the potentials of sports in Nigeria. But while we recognise its possible social and economic contribution, we also acknowledge the knowledge gap within the industry. We want this Industry Outlook to provide the public with information about various sectors, stakeholders within the sectors and their projections and expectations for the future.”

The report examines five areas identified as important to the development of the sports industry: governance, policy and regulation; sporting events; partnerships and investment; licensing, intellectual property and merchandising; and sports infrastructure. It notes that these areas shape how sports is organised, funded and managed.

Another co-curator, Telema Davies, explained the rationale behind the focus areas.

“We chose to focus on these sectors because we know, based on research, global industry standard and our experience, that they are the pillars on which the global sports economy is built. Governance and Policy provides direction, partnerships and investments provide the funding for the development of the sports products, events are the conduit through which the sport products are development while infrastructure is the bedrock, and licensing and intellectual property protects the commercialisation of the product.”