₦airaland Forum

For me, my experience with football shows on TV growing up in 1980s Nigeria goes thus:

I remember three TV stations with a lot of football content, both live and recorded: Clapperboard, DBN (Deague Broadacasting Network), and CableTel. I saw my first UEFA Champions' League final match live on CableTel in 1995 (Ajax vs. AC Milan, 1-0).

Before that, NTA Network had a lot of football content, such as AFCON and FIFA World Cup matches. I saw my first ever live football match on TV on August 11th, 1985. It was the final of the FIFA U-16 World Championship in 1985. Nigeria famously defeated West Germany 2-0 at the Workers' Stadium, Beijing, China. Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia), Fernando Redondo (Argentina), and Hugo Maradona (Argentina, Diego's younger brother who is also late) played at that event. I saw my first AFCON match also live on NTA on March 27th, 1988. It was a sad and hot afternoon as Cameroun defeated Nigeria 1-0.

In the middle of all that were several live matches that I saw growing up. A famous one was the 1986 FA Cup Final between Leventis United and Abiola Babes. I remember seeing the late MKO Abiola on TV holding his heads in his hands with great disbelief when Babes' goalkeeper Toyin Ayinla conceded an own goal that led to his side's defeat in that final. Then, I saw several Olympics [/b]events, starting with Seoul '88 at South Korea. I saw Romario and Bebeto (not as famous then as they were later on) score against Nigeria in a 4-0 beating by Brazil in the first group game. After Yugoslavia and Australia beat Nigeria, I lost interest in the soccer event and concentrated on athletics.

In the 90s, Godwin Dudu-Orumen started [b]The Best of Football. I think that was on NTA 2 Channel 5 and it was a weekend-only programme. TV programming in Nigeria in those days did not run 24 hours a day as it is now. In the mid-90's, after the 1994 FIFA World Cup which was Nigeria's first ever attendance, Rothmans of Pall Mall started European Football. That was the turning point for me. It piqued my interest in foreign football and when CFI started showing UEFA Champions' League matches, it was even better. Towards the end of the 1990s, Minaj Broadcasting and Murhi International Television (MiTV) started showing live [b]English Premier League [/b]matches. Most of the key games were in the mornings, and a good number of matches were also in the late noons. October 23rd, 1999 is a date that I will never ever forget - I saw live as Nwankwo Kanu scored a hat trick at Stamford Bridge to win Arsenal all 3 points in a 2-3 thriller against Chelsea.

The new millennium came, and then there was Digital Satellite Television (DStv). And everything changed...

The hallmark of a true GOAT is humility. Gbam!

Please, if you are intending to immigrate to Canada from Nigeria, DO NOT, (I repeat), DO NOT PATRONIZE THE SERVICES OF RICH GLOBAL TRAVELS, IBADAN. They are corporate fraudsters par excellence. They make you pay for everything, even to the minutest pay. They make you feel that they have connections to the Canada High Commission. They are no better than YOU when it comes to reading and understanding what you have to do to migrate.

I am a living witness and they totally messed up my application. They are toothless bulldogs; they promise and don't deliver most of the time. And I have the facts about them. I am NOT a hater; I am someone who has dealt with them and experienced their shambolic practices firsthand. They will tell you that you have a 100% chance of getting a Canadian visa but are indeed lying through their teeth. These dingbats need to be locked in prison for good. PATRONIZE THEM AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

Please, if you are intending to immigrate to Canada from Nigeria, DO NOT, (I repeat), DO NOT PATRONIZE THE SERVICES OF RICH GLOBAL TRAVELS, IBADAN. They are corporate fraudsters par excellence. They make you pay for everything, even to the minutest pay. They make you feel that they have connections to the Canada High Commission. They are no better than YOU when it comes to reading and understanding what you have to do to migrate.

I am a living witness and they totally messed up my application. They are toothless bulldogs; they promise and don't deliver most of the time. And I have the facts about them. I am NOT a hater; I am someone who has dealt with them and experienced their shambolic practices firsthand. They will tell you that you have a 100% chance of getting a Canadian visa but are indeed lying through their teeth. These dingbats need to be locked in prison for good. PATRONIZE THEM AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

Please, if you are intending to immigrate to Canada from Nigeria, DO NOT, (I repeat), DO NOT PATRONIZE THE SERVICES OF RICH GLOBAL TRAVELS, IBADAN. They are corporate fraudsters par excellence. They make you pay for everything, even to the minutest pay. They make you feel that they have connections to the Canada High Commission. They are no better than YOU when it comes to reading and understanding what you have to do to migrate.

I am living witness and they totally messed up my application. They are toothless bulldogs; they promise and don't deliver most of the time. And I have the facts about them. I am NOT a hater; I am someone who has dealt with them and experienced their shambolic practices firsthand. They will tell you that you have a 100% chance of getting a Canadian visa but are indeed lying through their teeth. These dingbats need to be locked in prison for good. PATRONIZE THEM AT YOUR OWN PERIL.