Football is king over here when it comes to sports. However, outside this country, it doesn’t enjoy the same popularity. Soccer (the real football to most around the world) holds that distinction. Although that fact won’t probably change anytime soon, the National Football League wants to spread its game to a global audience. This can prove to be a hard task because the sport is almost exclusively American.
Europe is the primary target of the NFL, at least commercially. They have established a league there previously, and for the last two years they have had a regular season game in London. This year there’ll be a third. There have also been talks about London hosting a future Super Bowl and even an expansion team in Europe. Should the overall experiment be successful, a lot of money could be made.
But, if it was talent they were looking for instead of commercial interests, then it is Africa they should look to, and not Europe. There are quite a few African players in the NFL and in college football, and even more whose parents are African-born. In this year’s draft, two such players, B.J. Raji and Brian Orakpo, were taken in the first round. Next year, three more are projected to go in the first round alone. And this is not new. Over the past years there have been others as well: Nnamdi Asomugha, Amobi Okoye, etc.
The flow of these players doesn’t seem to be stopping either. Here in the Bay Area, the two major Division 1 schools have had their share of such players, some of whom have moved on to the NFL. Cal Berkeley had the aforementioned Asomugha, and a few other players while Stanford had O.J. Atogwe and a handful of players the past decade or so. And the trend is national as well. Texas for example lost Orakpo, but a freshman, Alex Okafor, is coming in at the defensive end position. Could he be their next Brian Orakpo in the near future?
Nevertheless, all of these players learned the game on American soil. To have an established talent pool in Africa, the game itself needs to be taken over there. It would take time but it can eventually happen. Once people have started to learn the rules, play it, and enjoy it, then success will follow.
They could possibly follow the example of baseball, where teams have set up academies in some Latin American countries. The difference though is that in these countries, baseball is already a national pastime. So in Africa, where soccer is second to none, things would have to start from scratch. Cost would be a main issue because of the distance and the additional equipment required for the sport. There’s no doubt that it would be a difficult task, but it could be successful. After all, even baseball was at one point brought to these other countries, and they too had to start from scratch. Furthermore, the handful of players in the league that have backgrounds (immediate) in Africa shows that the talent is there.
And if the task seems challenging because of the continent’s size, then they could concentrate in a particular region. Or if even that is tough, then start with one country. Should that be the case, then I would suggest Nigeria as a starting point. Not only is it the most populous nation in Africa, but the players I’ve mentioned in this article, most of the ones in college and in the league, are either Nigerian-born or of Nigerian descent. So the reputation/credential is there to begin with.
Therefore, while the NFL may look to Europe for commercial success, should the teams ever want to seek a new haven for talent, Africa should be the obvious choice. The current demographics of the league prove that. It’s a difficult task, but it could be worthwhile. And for those who believe in the “prowess of the black athlete,” regardless of its controversial nature, there isn’t a place with more (possible black athletes) than the motherland itself.
Comments
Interesting article. I doubt American football will take root in Africa. Sure the talent is there but the sport requires considerable investement in infrastructure and equipment and it has never been a part of the culture. One may argue the same about soccer in the U.S, but there is one key differences. Soccer in the U.S. has always been part of the immigrant experience and continues to grow in the suburban middle class demographic. I could see teams establishing training camps and academies in Africa but what happens to the players that are not good enough for the NFL. Unlike soccer there are no local leagues to absorb these players.
Thanks for your comment JJ. You're right, it would be difficult because of the cost and the fact that it's not part of the culture. And there's also the question of sustaining it, and so some kind of league would have to be established. This way there'd be competition for these players too. Maybe they could have a league made up of those academies, and then those not good enough for the NFL will have a league to absorb them. But we'll see if there's ever ann attempt at it. I know I'd like to see it.
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