Naija Super 8: How New Football Tourney Brought Back Fan Excitement

Eight match-days of unrivalled music and football experience at the Naija Super 8 tournament hosted at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena set the ball rolling for a memorable final which saw Sporting Lagos defeat their south-west rivals, Remo Stars, via penalties after 1-1 draw in full time.

The tournament, which was created to revive the stadium attendance culture, witnessed a record turnout of fans all through the matchdays and the excitement reached a climax at the final on Sunday July 16 with the stadium filled to capacity.

Viral clips from the match left social media users bewildered as to how Flykite Productions, organisers of the tournament, were able to achieve a feat many would have considered impossible. It is an open secret that the organisers were able to achieve such an enviable feat through laudable innovations.

From the onset, Flykite Productions made fans the centrepiece of the tournament and ensured that they were major stakeholders in the team selection process through an open voting process. As such, the clubs who have built a solid fan base reaped the reward. The top two most voted clubs from each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria were paired for the qualification play-offs in Eket.

Another laudable initiative by Flykite Productions was the introduction of mentors for each of the eight participating clubs at the Naija Super 8 tournament. The mentors, namely Ike Shorunmu, Victor Ikpeba, Jonathan Akpoborie, Julius Agahowa, Tijani Babangida, Garba Lawal, Mutiu Adepoju and Victor Ezeji, added prestige to the tournament and brought nostalgic memories for middle-aged matchgoers.

While football is a thrilling sport, a fusion with music is an unrivalled experience and Flykite Productions delivered that. All the matchdays at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena before the final game hosted topnotch musical performances from some of Afrobeats biggest acts namely Bella Shmurda, Lil Kesh, 9ice, Daddy Showkey, Peruzzi, Crayon, DJ Exclusive and DJ Casper Sandra.

The fans were left entertained every matchday and they came back wanting more, expectations were high ahead the final day of the tournament and they were not left disappointed as the night ended on a high note with good music from the trio of Seyi Vibez, Portable and Pheelz.

Also, eight match goers were awarded Fan of The Tournament prize at the final and given Naija Super 8 custom made trophies, match balls autographed by legendary former Super Eagles.

The cherry on the cake for the participating clubs and players were the multi-million monetary incentives attached to the tournament. The winner, Sporting Lagos won N25 million, while Remo Stars won N9 million, this is in addition to the N3 million match bonus given to all participants. Meanwhile, the 15 players voted Hero-of-The Match for all the games were rewarded with N100,000 cash prize, while players who made the Team of the Tournament also earned N100,000 each.

Flykite Productions has set the pace, the fans are back in the stadium and we cannot wait to see what more they have in store for us!

The Naija Super 8 was organised in partnership with MultiChoice Nigeria and sponsors, MTN, Hero Lager, DStv, GOtv, SuperSport, Moniepoint, Pepsi and Custodian Assurance.

[Sponsored]

Source: Legit.ng