I don’t know if he knows it. I don’t also know if it is deliberate, or an accident of fate. Whatever it is, however, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, the ‘Man of the 2025 Gateway Games,’ has successfully planted the seeds of an emerging and authentic sports culture and economy in Abeokuta.

In the aftermath of the 22nd National Sports Festival in May of 2025, the fire of sports as a social and commercial catalyst was lit in the capital of Ogun State. Since then, the refurbished stadium, renamed MKO Abiola Sports Arena, has been playing host to more national and international Sports events than any other sports facility in Nigeria.

Apart from the beautiful new facilities for football and track events that serve as an attraction, the ancient city itself, only an hour’s drive from Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, has been providing a very safe, peaceful, friendly, and socially engaging atmosphere for a few major sports events and their followers, slowly but steadily cultivating the seeds of a new sports culture and economy in the State.

Between the National Sports Commission and the Nigeria Football Federation, they have fueled this exciting new development by bringing football and track events to the MKO Abiola Sports Arena back-to-back since July 2025.

The state government has not only embraced the development but also providing the events with logistics and some financial support.
Abeokuta is becoming a favoured social hub with convenient train rides into town from Lagos and Ibadan, modest hospitality facilities, very unique markets and tourism sites, some interesting social engagements in the evenings for the adventurous-at-heart, and a new generation of younger sports followers and entrepreneurs springing up around the MKO Abiola Sports Arena during the day(s) of sports events.

Earlier this week, the Arena hosted the Falcons, Nigeria’s women’s national football team, for their last qualifying match for WAFCON 2026.
Governor Dapo Abiodun personally welcomed the national heroines to the state and boosted their morale with a generous donation towards their game against Benin Republic.

The match attracted one of the largest crowds at a women’s football match in Nigeria in recent times. In the morning of the match, I was in Lagos preparing to return to play my official role as Grand Sports Ambassador of Ogun State, when I received a pleasant and very revealing telephone call from my friend, music maverick and Afrobeats superstar, Fela Anikulapo’s protege and adopted son, Dede Mabiaku. He was preparing to go to Abeokuta with another friend to watch the Falcons play.

Initially, I thought he was joking. I only finally believed him when I picked him up at his residence in Lagos and we rode in my car to Abeokuta and settled down in the stadium. Dede was only one of a growing army of sports fans coming to Abeokuta these days to watch games.

I see them these days in the section of the MKO Sports Arena where special guests sit and watch games. The patrons come from Lagos, Ibadan, even Abuja and so on. It has been a beautiful sight to behold as these sports faithful have started to come to Abeokuta to enjoy the socialisation as well as the games these days.

Last Tuesday, the human traffic to the stadium was large, almost filling up the terraces to capacity, an amazing sight to behold. There were some renowned and respected international journalists that came into town for the match.

Later that Tuesday night, it took combing through several Guest Houses in the Ibara GRA part of town before we could secure accommodation for my guest, Dede. There were very few vacant rooms.

We went club-hunting and found a few interesting places with music, dance, good food and a new generation of youthful sports fans painting the town Red, Black and Blue.

I am reminded of the recent visit of the great Ashanti Kotoko FC of Kumasi, Ghana that came to Abeokuta to play their continental club match against Kwara United FC of Ilorin.

It was during the night after the match that I realised there was a large Ghanaian community that descended on Abeokuta to watch and support the great African team.

Nigeria’s deficit of first-class sports facilities has become Abeokuta’s gain of sports events that have become the foundation of an emerging sports tourism tradition in Ogun State.

I spoke with the Director-General of the National Sports Commission as well as the Commissioner of Sports of Ogun State about Abeokuta’s growing influence in hosting events.

They both tell me that the development is deliberate but deserved, because Abeokuta, with its superb facilities at the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, truly provides a conducive atmosphere for international sports events.

Between them, they say there are more of such events in the pipeline – national and international football matches and track meets, matching the goal of Governor Dapo Abiodun to develop a sports economy in Ogun State, following in the tradition of the Amsterdam Arena, home of Ajax Amsterdam FC in Holland.

It may still be Day-One on a journey of a Thousand miles, but, surely, something has been stirred up in Abeokuta.

The Falcons Fail To Fly
LAST Tuesday, the Falcons could not fly. The football match against Benin Republic women’s national team was an anticlimactic. The Falcons, current champions of African women’s football, did not do justice to their huge reputation. For whatever reasons, the team did not play like champions at all.

It was a match between two teams struggling to string any number of passes together. Both teams kept pumping balls into the air, whereas their strength lies in keeping the ball on the turf where they needed to do less to keep close control of the ball.

Launching these long high balls into each other’s territory required great ball controlling skills that the girls lacked. Most of the players needed two or three touches on the ball to keep it under control and in their possession in order to orchestrate something.

For the 95 minutes duration of that match, there were hardly any discernible strategies, organised play, or team tactics. It was a ‘miracle’ that two goals, one for each of the teams, were even scored. But that may be me looking too critically at women’s football through the lens of the men’s game. African champions they may be, but for the Falcons to challenge for top spots in the world there are still miles to go in developing intricate ball control and dribbling skills, better team organisation and the nimble legs needed to make the ball do their bidding, always!

The good thing for now, however, is that the spectators did not seem to mind all the team’s technical ‘deficits’.
As they streamed out of the MKO Abiola Sports Arena, I noticed that the audience were mostly a youthful population of young men and girls, a new generation of sports followers, a new force driving an emerging sports culture and economy starting in Abeokuta, Ogun State.