The first time Nigeria’s men’s football team played outside the country, it took them two weeks to reach their destination. They sailed from Lagos to Southampton on board the MVThe team was young, having only played its first international match against Gold Coast — now Ghana — in Lagos in 1938. The tour of England, to test their strength against nine English amateur clubs, was its first major foray on the world stage.
It started well. The opening game against Marine Crosby Football Club was scheduled for just two days after their arrival. The team wore olive green jerseys and white shorts, and only striker Sokari Dokubu wore boots. A crowd of 6 000 watched the Nigerians — christened the UK Tourists for the tour — register a 5-2 upset.
The tour ended with two wins, two draws and five losses. This included a 8-0 thumping by the Athenian League XI, which was largely blamed on the team’s unfamiliarity with football boots. Slippery, wet conditions meant they had to wear them. Segun Adenuga was only seven years old at the time, but already he was hooked on the beautiful game. When he wasn’t playing on the streets of Lagos Island, he was desperately waiting for news on how the team was faring abroad. Match reports would appear in the
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