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Nigeria: observations before and during the World Cup

ABSTRACT The World Cup is the pinnacle of Nigeria’s football participation. While it brings excitement to the country, it is intricately welded to politics at ethnic, national and international levels. What this paper investigatesis Nigeria’s relationship with World Cup football- and the intersection of this relationship at three levels of politics. It frames this relationship using theoretical lenses ofnationalism, pan-Africanism and post-coloniality. These frames help us to understand why Nigerians at the World Cup, support not just the Nigerian team but other African teams and teams with players of African heritage.