Sport loving Nigerians, particularly football enthusiasts will be excited to hear that The HIVE Leagues Limited, Nigeria’s foremost Sports Management Company, is set to launch a small-sided football league into the Nigerian space tagged ‘Hive Leagues’ in the coming week in the month of June, 2019.
The objective of this initiative and company’s vision is to simply get everyday people; amateurs, sports lovers, sports fans and enthusiasts engaged in sports or sports-themed activities for fun, fitness, and social integration on an organized platform. The organization will start operating private small sided football 5, 6, 7-a-side leagues around cities and communities in the country, starting with Lagos and Abuja. Other cities will follow subsequently as the league progresses.
The HIVE Leagues Ltd is affiliated to the International Socca Federation (ISF), which is an authority on small sided football worldwide. Its major focus is to begin organized small-sided football and recreational sport leagues in Nigeria in general. As part of its program, and cited as juicy incentive for members, The HIVE Leagues Ltd, via its leagues, will produce players to go to the 6-a-side Socca World Cup organized by the ISF, in Greece later this year.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of The HIVE Leagues, Mr. Henry Koko, most Nigerians already play recreational football but will find a deeper level of engagement, enjoyment and a more holistic experience playing in The HIVE Leagues. “We are in the process of fine-tuning a multimillion naira purpose-built website for the league operations, which will feature team entry, fixtures, league tables, highlights of matches, to mention a few”.
Shedding more light on the leagues Koko said: “In order to provide a superstar experience to our members, we will be providing kits to players and have match managers oversee all their games. In a nutshell, we want to provide the English Premier League (EPL) equivalent of recreational football to everyday Nigerians”.
The organization is also planning to give back to society, by furnishing a league in a primary or secondary school of choice, for every 9 leagues operated. In addition to donation of a league, free kits and sports equipment, a company representative will give a talk to the children on the benefits of being active and engaging in sports.
