Browns awarded international marketing rights of Nigeria by NFL

The Cleveland Browns were awarded the international marketing rights of Nigeria in the NFL Global Markets Program

The NFL granted the Cleveland Browns the rights for international marketing in Nigeria. Previously referred to as the International Home Marketing Areas, the NFL announced the program three years ago to grow the sport globally. 

The international markets operated throughout Western Europe, South America, North America, Asia, and Oceania. Argentina, Colombia, Japan, and South Korea are the four other new markets in 2024. Nigeria is the first market to open in Africa, and the Browns have the sole marketing rights in the country.

The Browns already have ties to the country. David Njoku’s parents immigrated from Nigeria, and his family maintained close ties with their communities. In 2022, Njoku was named a chief of his familial village, Umuozu, in southern Nigeria. Njoku recorded a message welcoming the country to the program.


Njoku isn’t the only Browns player who has roots in Nigeria. Defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo and new offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji are of Nigerian descent. Okoronkwo has participated in NFL Africa events, hosting football camps in Nigeria and Ghana. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is another major participant in NFL Africa. The Browns have a ton of friendly and familiar faces to welcome in fans from across the globe.

Rockets proudly host NBA’s first Nigerian Heritage Night as Olajuwon, Udoka take part

Hakeem Olajuwon, Ime Udoka, and Chiney Ogwumike were part of Houston’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night, which was the first held by any NBA team.

When Julian Duncan joined the Rockets as chief marketing and strategy officer in July 2021, the native Houstonian had a vision of celebrating Nigeria and its communities during a regular-season game. The Houston metropolitan area is home to one of the largest Nigerian immigrants communities in the United States.

Two years of planning turned out to be well worth the wait for Duncan and his staff. Last Friday, the Rockets paid tribute to the Nigerian population in Houston and surrounding areas by hosting the team’s inaugural Nigerian Heritage Night at Toyota Center.

It was the first such tribute arranged by an NBA team. It was a massive success for fans in attendance and those individuals who joined a postgame Q&A session with icons such as Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon; Rockets head coach Ime Udoka; WNBA All-Star and ESPN personality Chiney Ogwumike; and award-winning recording artist Tobe Nwigwe. All are of Nigerian descent.

“Being in Houston, it is the city of innovation, but it is also a city with rich cultural heritage,” Duncan told Rockets Wire.

“We celebrate tons of different heritages here, but the one we had not touched bases with was the Nigerian heritage,” Duncan explained.

“It made the most sense when one, you have Hakeem Olajuwon in your city, and two, Houston is home to the largest population of Nigerians, bigger than any other city in the nation. It just made sense. So, two years in the making, we have a beautiful celebration of Nigerian culture and heritage here in Houston.”

Ogwumike, who grew up in the Houston area and became a national player of the year at Cy-Fair High School, was honored with the team’s ceremonial pregame “First Shot.” Naturally, she made it, earning $5,000 for charity from Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

In subsequent comments, she said it meant a lot for her to participate in an event that celebrates her culture and represents her family.

“It meant the world to me,” Ogwumike told reporters after being formally honored by the organization as a hometown hero. “I am able to celebrate my culture here, the African diaspora, and the sports world, and how it has brought us all together.”

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Chiefs OL Jason ‘Chu’ Godrick speaks about his first-ever football game

#Chiefs lineman Jason “Chu” Godrick spoke about playing his first-ever game of organized football on Sunday.

Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Jason “Chu” Godrick’s “welcome to the NFL” moment this past Sunday was even bigger than just a welcome to professional football — it was a full-on “welcome to football” moment.

Godrick, who came to Kansas City as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program from Lagos, Nigeria, played in his first-ever football game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 of the preseason.

And, oddly enough, he did a pretty solid job in his professional debut. The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder earned 20 snaps at right tackle and didn’t allow a single pressure. After the game, Godrick talked to Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports (former editor of Chiefs Wire) about his amazing first-time football experience.

“Words can barely express it, to be honest,” Godrick said. “The atmosphere was definitely something I had never experienced, but I did my best to keep my head on a swivel and just play ball.”

It’s almost unprecedented to see a player come straight into the NFL without playing a single snap of organized football — it speaks to the true talent that Godrick has, not to mention the work ethic of getting to that level.

It’ll be another giant leap for Godrick to one day make a practice squad, let alone a 53-man roster, but his impressive debut showed that it could be a possibility for him. That would be a story to behold.

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Lauren James went and lost her mind. It could be costly for England.

One of the stars of the World Cup may have thrown it all away in a split-second decision

Lauren James was having a dream World Cup heading into the knockout stage, but her debut on the world’s biggest stage now risks becoming something of a nightmare.

James was perhaps the standout player of the entire group stage, scoring three goals and adding two assists in just three games for England — all of them wins.

The 21-year-old has quickly risen to prominence to mark herself as a star of the global game, but she risks undoing all of her stellar work in Australia and New Zealand after a moment of madness against Nigeria in the round of 16.

Late in the game with the score tied 0-0, James ended up on top of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie and — for reasons only she will ever know — instead of simply getting off, she clearly and deliberately stood on her opponent’s back.

After a VAR review, England was down to 10 players.

The Lionesses would still manage to overcome Nigeria by the slimmest of margins, winning 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw through 120 minutes. But their path forward without their top attacking player looks murky.

England has enough talent to beat either Jamaica or Colombia in the quarterfinal without the suspended James. But the concern is that she could face an additional sanction due to the blatant nature of her infraction.

“It was a moment that was in a split-second,” England manager Sarina Wiegman said after the game. “It was later in the game so players get a little tired. She is inexperienced on this stage and in a split-second lost her emotions. She would never want to hurt someone, she is the sweetest person I know.”

England’s Rachel Daly added: “She’s a young player – people forget that. They put a lot of pressure on her on the outside.

“It’s a team game, she’s been excellent for us and [we’ll] put an arm round her and help her through it.”

England will now face a nervous wait on the word from FIFA, who could add an additional two games to James’s suspension — ending her World Cup.

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2023 Women’s World Cup Knockout Stage Day 3 Recap: Australia, England advance

Australia and England reached the quarterfinals, with the latter needing a penalty shootout to do so

On the third day of knockout stage games at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, two more teams punched their tickets to the next round, while two others got sent packing. The two games that took place were England against Nigeria and Australia versus Denmark, the first of which ended up going to a penalty shootout.

Before we get into the two games, here is your reminder that you can follow all of the World Cup action right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can get the full TV/streaming schedule, a power ranking of all 16 knockout stage teams, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s get into the games.

World Cup knockout round power rankings: Evaluating all 16 teams

Evaluating the hopes of the 16 teams left at this World Cup

A World Cup group stage full of surprises has resulted in a truly intriguing set of 16 teams going through to the knockout rounds.

Some favorites have looked the part, but the list of big teams that have underachieved is significantly longer (it’s not just the U.S. women’s national team, folks). A couple of second-tier teams have stepped their game up, while some unheralded sides have shown that while no one was watching, they were making major strides.

The result is a round of 16 where it feels like nearly anything could happen. Could the USWNT join the likes of Germany, Brazil, and Canada in being out? What about the possibility of teams like Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa getting to the quarterfinals?

It’s been completely unpredictable, so all of these things are distinctly possible. Still, Pro Soccer Wire tried to sort out the likelihood of any one team making a run to the final. Somewhere between their results in this tournament, past track record, and overall talent level, we’ve settled on a power rankings list that everyone everywhere will surely have no problems with.

2023 Women’s World Cup Day 12 Recap: Australia sends Canada packing

The Matildas got the performance they needed to reach the knockout stage at Canada’s expense

Day 12 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup came with plenty of drama as the knockout stages are starting to fill up. There were four games on Day 12: Costa Rica played Zambia, Japan took on Spain, the Republic of Ireland battled it out against Nigeria, and Canada faced off against Australia.

But before we dive into the action, here’s your daily reminder that you can follow the entirety of the World Cup right here on Pro Soccer Wire! Make sure to check out the full TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s get into the games.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 8 Recap: Horan, Van de Donk go at it

The eighth day at the World Cup saw the USWNT (but not Australia) avoid an upset

On Day 8 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there were plenty of interesting storylines to follow, including a shocking draw and an improbable upset with huge ramifications. There were three games on Day 8. The U.S. women’s national team took on the Netherlands, Portugal faced off against Vietnam, and Australia battled it out against Nigeria.

As usual, here is your daily reminder that you can follow the entirety of the World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! We have you covered will the full TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s see what happened on Day 8.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 2 Recap: Spain, Switzerland dominate

Spain and Switzerland showed their class, while Canada was held to a frustrating draw

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is officially getting into the swing of things, as Day 2 of the event saw a three-game slate on Friday (Or Thursday night into early Friday morning, for those not living in the host countries). Nigeria took on Canada, Switzerland faced off against the Philippines, and Spain battled it out against Costa Rica.

Before diving into the action, a quick reminder about our coverage of the World Cup here at Pro Soccer Wire. Make sure to keep up with the games by checking out the TV/streaming schedule, a constantly updated list of the standings, and the Golden Boot race at all times.

With that, let’s see how the games played out on Day 2.

2023 World Cup: Getting to know Team Nigeria

Meet Nigeria’s women’s national team.

Ahead of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, we here at For The Win are previewing some key teams to watch in this tournament. Next up is the Nigeria women’s national team. You can see the full list of team previews and read about the USWNT here.

One of the sleeper teams at the 2023 World Cup is Nigeria.

Although this isn’t a powerhouse, the Super Falcons have some star power that could make them a competitive team and surprise some fans in the World Cup.

Nigeria, however, doesn’t enter this tournament with tremendous momentum right now. It has the eighth-lowest ranking among all teams to qualify, and it’s the biggest underdog in its group.

But there are still reasons to believe that the Super Falcons could pull off some upsets.

So as the tournament kicks off, here’s a look at what you need to know about Nigeria in the 2023 World Cup.

World Cup team previews: Get to know 10 of the 2023 contenders (including USWNT, of course)