Nollywood, as an industry deeply rooted in theatrical traditions, has flirted with different genres since its inception, with the most conspicuous being drama and comedy. A News Agency of Nigeria report identifies drama as the leading Nollywood genre of 2023 accounting for 45.5 percent of the top 44 films released in the Nigerian box office throughout the year. The top eight all-time highest-grossing Nigerian films in the domestic cinemas belong to the comedy-drama category, with highflyers like Everybody Loves Jenifa and A Tribe Called Judah, both produced by Funke Akindele, reaching unprecedented billion-naira milestones. These facts, though captured against the backdrop of what is considered New Nollywood—the contemporary era of Nigerian cinema that is miles away from and more cinematically refreshing than home video, reveal the profound interlocking influences of drama and comedy on our worldviews and history as Nigerians. Notwithstanding, other genres and sub-genres such as the romantic drama/comedy (A Naija Christmas, Phone Swap, etc.), historical drama/epics & biopics (Basorun Gaa, The Legend of Inikpi, Efunsetan Aniwura, Afonja, House of Ga’a, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, etc.), political drama/thriller (Tunde Kelani’s Saworo Ide, Agogo Eewo; Kemi Adetiba’s King of Boys franchise) psychological drama/thriller, action/crime drama/thriller (AY Makun’s Merry Men franchise, Ramsey Nouah’s Tokunbo), supernatural horror/drama (Chris Obi Rapu’s Living In Bondage, Christian Onu’s Karishika, Yekini Ajileye’s witchcraft-themed films—Koto Orun, Koto Aiye, etc.) have made successful impacts in the Nigerian market at various points, reflecting the country’s rich socio-cultural landscape.
With the continual evolution of Nollywood comes the emergence and attention to new forms, styles, and technology. One such form is the sports film genre. The sports film is woven around a sport and often features a central sports character who evolves from the position of an underdog into a champion. Usually, in the sports film, the protagonist undergoes some adversity, which could be personal, professional, or a combination of both, but eventually achieves victory or growth. While focusing on sports, it may accommodate and overlap with other motifs and themes.
Over the years, Nollywood films such as Aburo and Funke!, Up North, White Water, Prophetess, Maami, Onye Egwu, When Love Strikes, and Suky have taken on different sports to varying degrees. Izu Ojukwu’s 2007 classic White Water is about an academically challenged youngster whose unique speed is discovered as he gets the opportunity to join the state track team. Tunde Kelani’s Maami (2010), which is based on Femi Osofisan’s novel of the same title, is about an international football star who, on returning to Nigeria on the eve of the 2010 World Cup, is forced to confront his painful past, including his estranged father and cherished memories of his late mother who raised him in abject poverty.
Yemi Morafa’s Funke! (2018) spotlights a young girl’s dream to become a footballer against the odds of societal expectations; Aburo (2024) follows the story of a thieving boy’s redemptive transformation and journey toward becoming a professional athlete. Niyi Akinmolayan’s Prophetess (2021) takes a light-hearted approach to tackling the issue of sports betting. Uche Jombo’s Onye Egwu (2024) and Inkblot’s production When Love Strikes (2024) also thematise football, with the focus on young men faced with family and personal challenges as their talent distinguishes and sets them up for possible global success. Ola Cardoso’s Suky (2025) presents the coming-of-age story of a young man who, fuelled by the need to avenge his father’s death, rises through the prison ranks till he encounters his father’s murderer. The film spotlights boxing and Dambe, a traditional combat sport associated with the Hausa people, with Dambe being a source of empowerment for the titular character.
Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of football players from Africa who play in the top five European leagues, only outranked by Senegal, Ivory Coast and Morocco. According to Statscore, the most popular sports in Nigeria are football, basketball, Dambe, athletics and boxing. This explains why most sports films in Nollywood focus on the game of football, with the likelihood of other sporting activities being spotlighted low. But then, the sports canon in Nollywood remains sufficiently underdeveloped and underrepresented, with existing films often relying on threadbare plots (for instance, Onye Egwu and When Love Strikes) or tethered to broader themes that dwarf the sport motif (as evident in Suky).
The limited attention to sports films in Nollywood may be attributed to different factors, one of which is an uncertain market demand. Filmmaking in Nigeria is a volatile business that requires mammoth financial commitments, with many filmmakers having to seek investors or take loans from partners, friends, and designated institutions to execute their projects. As a result, these filmmakers pursue stories and genres with proven “commercial value”, prioritizing profit-making. A typical business model is evident in the Nigerian filmmakers’ general quick-cash-grab approach to films on YouTube—budget-friendly productions populated with choice, physically attractive actors, and storylines woven around romance tinged with comedy or drama, often optimized for sensationalism. This urge for commercial success and broad audience appeal thus informs the skepticism of Nigerian filmmakers towards taking on genres such as the sports film and science fiction films that have not been sufficiently tested and trusted. But what, then, is a filmmaker without an aptitude for experimentation?
Another factor responsible for the inattention to the sports film in Nollywood is the industry’s storytelling challenge. Since the arrival of global streaming platforms and the onset of modern Nigerian films, there has been an improvement in the aesthetic quality of productions, most especially in areas of cinematography, production design, makeup, visual tricks, and special effects. However, not much has improved in the quality of the stories themselves—a deficiency that equally afflicts the sports film, consequently leading to what feels like a general audience apathy to the genre.
Going forward, Nollywood filmmakers need to explore the potential opportunities for inspiring stories in the sports film genre. This comes with an intentional approach to scriptwriting and storytelling. One way to achieve this is by crafting stories that are based on the lived experiences of certain Nigerian sports icons and legends who are revered for their contributions. In this regard, Nigerian filmmakers should consider biopics based on legendary domestic footballers such as Rasheed Yekini, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Nwankwo Kanu, and athletes like Blessing Okagbare and Tobi Amusan. An Afrocentric example of this is Ugandan chess player Phiona Mutesi who is the subject of the 2016 biographical sports drama film, Queen of Katwe, capturing her rise from the slums in Kampala to global prominence as a chess champion.
The sports film deserves a similar treatment as that of the booming traditional epic genre—Jagun Jagun, House of Gaa, Lisabi and Seven Doors, etc.—with enough publicity and glamour to improve its viewership experience. In addition, Nigerian filmmakers need to explore stories around other sporting events such as basketball, table tennis, combat sports, and board games like chess and scrabble which Nigerians participate in locally and abroad. On this note, stories simulating the life and development of Nigeria’s foremost chess player and promoter, Tunde Onakoya, for instance, need to be told to inspire the younger generation and draw their attention to how such an underserviced game could breed potentially life-changing opportunities.
All things considered, the sports film genre remains an untapped mine that can open the doors for growth and development in Nigerian society. Through investments in stories that showcase the trials and triumphs of sportspeople, Nollywood filmmakers can push narratives that are reflective of our complex contemporary existence as Nigerians, motivate the downtrodden towards taking action to propel their lives on the right trajectory, awaken the next generation of sportsmen, create a sense of national pride occasioned by sportsmanship, and contribute towards nation building in the long haul. With the combination of proper storytelling strategies, production infrastructure, and intentional marketing and distribution systems, the Nigerian sports film genre can gravitate from the periphery towards an integral part of the country’s film ecosystem and possibly become a torchbearer for further cinematic breakthroughs.
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