In this report, EBENEZER BAJELA writes on the effect of the coronavirus lockdown on the sports betting and football viewing centres in Nigeria and how it has affected this sector
At a food canteen in the Ogba area of Lagos on April 13, anxious youths gathered around the television hung on a wall outside, awaiting a speech by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
The President was scheduled to brief the nation at 7pm on an earlier two-week lockdown placed on Lagos and Ogun states as well as the capital, Abuja, which ended that day.
Already there was anxiety amongst the youth, made up largely of bus conductors, drivers and petty traders at the food canteen and almost everyone else across Lagos.
“Would the President extend the lockdown amidst the economic hardships in the last 14 days?,” one of them thought aloud.
To their disappointment, the President announced a fresh two-week lockdown.
Buhari’s announcement of another 14-day lockdown was met with shouts, hisses and sighs as the angry small crowd, some with their mouths agape and hands on their heads, vented their frustrations.
Like every other sector, the suspension of sporting activities globally due to the coronavirus pandemic has left the sports industry in an epileptic state.
Nigeria is perhaps one of the worst hit, with several of its unemployed population, largely made up of youths, who have turned to sports business to earn a living, left at a crossroads by the lockdown.
With almost all football leagues across the world suspended due to the pandemic, the 2021 AFCON and 2022 World Cup qualifiers postponed indefinitely, as well as the 2020 Olympic Games shifted to 2021 alongside other major sporting events cancelled, operators of sports and football viewing centres have been left to count their losses.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, Kayode Babatuyi, a viewing centre operator in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State laughed all the way to the bank weekly to deposit proceeds from his business, fans trooped into his shop in their large numbers to watch their football clubs play week in week out.
That boom has ended, leaving him with nothing to sustain himself.
“I made N16,000 on the average weekly, after all other expenses, but if we had a star match within the week, I made up to N20,000 weekly because a star match alone could fetch one as much as N8,000,” Babatuyi told The PUNCH.
“We showed matches sometimes five days weekly because during the weekend, we had Premier League games on Saturdays and Sundays and then Champions League on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Europa League on Thursdays.
“Now that most leagues across the world have been suspended, business is down, everything is grounded. Before the suspension, we paid for a month’s subscription, but we were only able to use it for a week before we found ourselves in this situation, so the other three weeks of subscription just wasted away.”
While Wale Ayoola, another operator in Arepo, Ogun State, has resorted to the hitherto unpopular virtual games to earn a living, Folorunsho Pafo, another viewing centre operator in Magboro, Ogun State, has also turned to other means for survival.
“As you can see, the whole place is empty because there are no matches to play and my subscription has ended,” Pafo said when our correspondent visited his viewing centre.
“The only saving grace for me was that I know how to install dishes and inverter. That’s what I have to fall back on.”
Olatak, who owns a viewing centre around Ojodu Abiodun area of Ogun State, said, “Before the coronavirus outbreak, I had tough time forcing viewers to stay outside if the viewing centre was full. But since the lockdown, it’s been hell. Thank God, I have another business. I am into recharge card sales and, it’s helping me to cushion the effect.”
Mimi Akat has a beer parlour, where people come to both drink and watch games but the suspension of games and the lockdown has also had effect on beer sales.
She said, “My beer parlour is empty every weekend due to the coronavirus. People that can’t crowd viewing centres come here to watch games and drink but since there are no games to watch, sales have reduced. We even took our TV down because only few people come for drinks now.”
In Lagos State, the lockdown has had severe economic consequences on food vendors and other business operators around the National Stadium, Teslim Balogun Stadium and the Agege Stadium, as they have all been closed down.
The newly renovated Mobolaji Johnson Stadium at Onikan has been converted to an isolation centre for COVID-19 cases.
Some of the food vendors and beer parlour operators around the Agege Stadium complained bitterly about sales, saying they had incurred losses since the lockdown started.
“Prior to this coronavirus outbreak, I made money. My business was booming. I cooked rice thrice daily. Now, I hardly sell a cooler of rice,” Hadijat Oriyomi said.
It is the same situation Emeka Orlu, who sells drinks close to the stadium, finds himself.
“Athletes came around to cool off after training, my place was bubbling, business was booming. But since the coronavirus outbreak and the curfew, everywhere is just dull,” he stated.
The Teslim Balogun Stadium was no different, when our correspondent visited the arena. It was under lock and key, with only senior ranking staff spotted within the facility.
The National Stadium, usually booming with food and drinking joints as well as night life, was also in same state, with no one in sight.
One of the most highly affected areas in the industry is sports betting.
For both operators of the betting companies and their clients, it has been business unusual.
While companies are ruing the reduction in the revenue they accrue from people who visit their sites to place bets, punters, who see betting as a means of increasing their income, are also at a loss.
Workers of betting companies and punters complained of how the inactivity in sports had affected their businesses.
A member of the House of Representatives and founder of betting company, NairaBET, Akin Alabi, voiced the frustrations of other stakeholders in the industry when he admitted that sports betting was one of the worst hit since the virus outbreak.
“A business that has been badly hit by this shutdown is the sports betting business. No sports. No deposits. No income. Yes there is virtual sports but it is only a consolation. I know some companies will have to send staff on unpaid leave very soon,” Alabi wrote on Twitter.
Jamiu Otokihla took care of his daily needs through extra cash he made courtesy of betting, but that has been cut short due to the shutdown.
He said, “I normally get some fund from betting every week no matter how small to add to my daily spending but since last week, the odds have dropped, and we can no longer punt well again. If this coronavirus continues it will affect a lot of businesses and movements.”
It is also a tale of lamentation for Mukaila Ariyo, a vulcaniser.
“The coronavirus has affected me; I can’t stake as much as I do. I remember before the outbreak; I staked a lot to boost my chances of winning.
“I can carry games or fixtures from other leagues and place a certain amount on them, the more the options, the better your chances of winning.
“But, since this coronavirus started, I have not been able to make much, you know, the chances are slim, and one can’t make money. At least if the season is still on, I would have made money but, now no matches, nothing. I pray this disease just go, so that I can make some money,” Ariyo stated.
However, Tade Agboola has devised another means of overcoming the meltdown in the industry.
He has resorted to ‘doing business’ with Premier Lotto, popularly known as ‘Baba Ijebu.’
‘Baba Ijebu’ is a form of gambling where winning numbers are drawn and monetary rewards are given to the winners.
“I have resorted to playing ‘Baba Ijebu’ and virtual sports betting since this coronavirus thing started. Even though I don’t really like it, I just have to use it to keep myself busy as I now experience very boring weekends.”
Football, which has the largest followership among the country’s sports faithful, hasn’t been spared the economic downturn occasioned by the COVID-19 lockdown, as well.
Professional football clubs in the domestic league are worst hit, says Davidson Owumi, General Manager, Enugu Rangers, who described the situation as “a nose-diving experience.”
“Football in Nigeria is a segment of the entire Nigerian economy, which is also related to the global economy. The entire world is in a lockdown, football inclusive, so no activity is taking place, no training, no matches.
“There’s a lot of pessimism all over the place. What people are thinking is, ‘God, how do we survive this?’ Then you start to think about what to eat.
“Shops are closed, so if you even have souvenirs to sell, you can’t sell because apart from essential services, no shops are allowed to operate. So, economically, it’s a nose-diving experience for every economic activity.
“And when you don’t play matches you don’t get gate takings. The subsidiary services around football are all at a standstill. So, you expect that comprehensively, it’s going to be a massive downturn in the revenue of clubs, which consequentially will affect the teams financially. So, that’s where we are now,” Owumi stated.
Sports analyst and CEO, MatchRoom Media and Consult, Aikhojie Ojeikhere, said the lockdown had cost the sports sector billions of naira.
He said, “Money has stopped coming into the sports world and everyone is waiting for when COVID-19 clears for proper business to start. It’s a standstill for now, which isn’t good for sports business.
“Sports is a multi-billion naira industry, so the effect is in billions. Okpekpe race, an international event that brings foreign exchange to the country, has been suspended alongside other major events in the country.
“We are talking about maybe another two weeks in May before government has a clearer picture of what’s going to happen, so the loss is running into billions.”
How fast can the sports industry recover after the lockdown?
Ojeikhere says it doesn’t look any time soon.
“Sponsors are waiting to see what will happen next. The two weeks extension is already looking like it will be extended and it’s a complete lockdown nobody knows when it will end.
“Recovery is going to be very slow because everyone is going to be cautious, and don’t forget that the way it’s going, the Federal Government might take further steps guarding against the pandemic.
“So, business will move at a slow rate, maybe even in the last quarter of the year, before it gets back to what it used to be, but it’s going to be very slow.
“Everything has moved from sponsorship to CSR, everyone is contributing to ensure that this stops, so it means budgets are moved from what they were initially planned for, to fighting the pandemic. So, if all funds are geared towards this fight, what will be used for sports? It’s serious,” he added.
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