The impact of football fanaticism on the wellbeing of young men in Nigeria: Implication for social work practice

Abstract

Football is a very popular sport among Nigerian youth. However, football, which was intended to entertain, has engendered hostility as well as other negative effects among fans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of football fanaticism on the well-being of young men in Nigeria. We invited 24 male participants to a single in-depth semi-structured interview using a qualitative descriptive design. We utilized thematic analysis approach while analyzing the qualitative data. Our findings showed that younger men in Nigeria hold some positive perceptions about football fandom. However, fandom has had an unexpected impact on young adults, increasing physical and psychological risk factors such as violence, anxiety, and suicide. Our research adds to the emerging field of social work and sports in Nigeria and globally as well as fandom as a risk factor for suicide, for the consideration of social workers. Social workers, in roles such as program facilitators, psychotherapists, tele-counseling, and educators, could assist young people in developing a healthy football support life.

Keywords

• youths
• sports fanaticism
• football
• soccer
• social work