Highly respected business promoter, author and motivational speaker, Azeez Amida has come out with a bold declaration that the advent of true professionalism into the game of flag football in Nigeria came through his company.
Amida disclosed as much in an exclusive interview with Sports247, during which he stressed that his introduction of Showtime Flag Football marked a turning point for Nigeria’s impact in the sport nationally and internationally.
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The president/founder of Showtime, which he set up in 2023, pushed aside all opposition to his claims and stressed that even top officials of the National Sports Commission (NSC) know him as the pioneer promoter of flag football in Nigeria.
He expatiated, “The only reason why a player today is able to have a real contract and be truly entitled to the pay stated in flag football is because Showtime exists.”
He also recalled how a contending body known as Nigeria American Football Association (NAFA), headed by Babajide Akeredolu, has tried to control all aspects of the game in the country, but stressed that nothing worked before Showtime came on board.
Amida added, “When NAFA left the former flag football league, Babajide himself had an aim to play tackle football.
“That’s why last season or the one before people were being told that, if they participate in Showtime’s league, they will not play for the national team.
“But I can clearly confirm that, for Nigeria having gone for the championship in Egypt, all of us had to agree. We had to say that we were okay with everybody.
“It was not a case of one person did it himself. If we had said ‘No,’ there would never have been a Team Nigeria in Egypt.”
He concluded by stressing that the time had come to speak out and put the records straight, so that all sports lovers in Nigeria will get to know where the actual authority concerning flag football lies in the country.
Amida affirmed, “We kept quiet about these things for a very long time, but they kept on confusing everybody all over the place.
“That’s why I now inform anybody who has a beef about flag football to kindly walk to the NSC and ask, ‘Is there a Federation for flag football in Nigeria?'”
