Nigeria May Host 2020 Football Fives World Championships

There are strong indications that Nigeria will host the 2020 edition of Football Fives World Championships, F5WC.

The 2018 edition of the F5WC will take place in Shanghai in September and if plans work out well, Nigeria will host the next world finals.

This hint was dropped by Boma Jacks, the Director of I-Sports Coliseum, the Country Partner (CP) of the F5WC in Nigeria. Jacks said that a bid document to express Nigeria’s intention of hosting the F5WC is in the offing, adding that there is even enthusiasm among the leadership of the organisers of Football Fives World Championships to Nigeria as a means of popularizing and taking the game of football five-a-side to the next level in the country.

Jacks disclosed that Nigeria as a host tends to gain a lot from staging the world finals as the F5WC is a good event to boost the tourism potentials of the country with players from about 48 countries participating.

“Football Fives World Championships is the world’s largest five-a-side tournament founded in 2013, and it is designed specifically for the amateur players aged 16 and above from all over the world who share the love of football.

“The 2015 to 2017 editions have been successful, with over one million players entering the tournament in the last four years from over 48 countries making it the biggest five-a-side tournament till date, ” Jacks said.

According to him, the world finals of the F5WC, which Nigeria may host in 2020, has always been a spectacular event. It has been broadcasted live to over 50 countries worldwide. Jacks said it is a thing of joy if Nigeria could win the hosting right, as this will further boost the country’s image to the outside world.

Explaining the journey so far for F5WC in Nigeria, Jacks said: “The first and second seasons of the football fives held in 2015 and 2016 saw the country’s qualifying edition a success. It had 144 registered teams participating in the tournament held in Lagos for the pilot edition and about 1000 players nationwide for the second edition that included Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano States and the FCT Abuja.

“A four-day elimination qualifiers was held at the Legacy Pitch of the National Stadium, Surulere and Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos Island for the first and second editions. De Royals Football Club of Gbagada emerged champions of the tournament for the second time in a row.

“The team went ahead to represent Nigeria at the World Finals in Dubai, which also had nations like Singapore, France and hosts, the United Arab Emirates in their group. ”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s qualifying tournament for this year’s Football Fives World Championships (F5WC) will kick off from 2 July.

Head of Competition, I-Sports Coliseum and LOC F5WC, Yusuf Samsudeen Tijani said that the qualifiers will be played in Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Delta, Abeokuta and Lagos centres. He disclosed that a three-day national finals will be played in Lagos at the end of which a winner who will fly the country’s flag at the World finals in Shanghai will emerge.

Yusuf said that the game is designed basically for amateur players and not different from futsal game. “Not every footballer will play at the professional level and not every player will dorn the colours of the national team. That is why five-a-side football is here to give opportunity for more players the chance to play football at the big level,” he said.

He noted that I-Sports Coliseum is partnering NILAYO Sports Company, adding NILAYO’s experience in sports management is what I-Sports Coliseum will benefit from.