Media Framing of Race and Football in Colonial Nigeria: 1914 to 1950s

Abstract

This paper examines 41 Nigerian newspaper articles, selected purposively, from 1914 to 1953. The newspapers identify racial framing of football under British colonial rule. Although there are studies of colonial football in Nigeria, few address its interaction with racialization. The articles are selected from three Nigerian newspapers – Nigeria Pioneer, The Times of Nigeria, and the West African Pilot. The earlier Nigerian newspapers – Nigeria Pioneer and The Times of Nigeria – were prominent in the use of thematic frames such as European racial superiority, football as cultural superiority, and Nigeria’s physical performers and expressionism. On the other hand, the West African Pilot, established much later by and for Nigeria’s indigenous interest under colonial rule, challenged those conceptions. The findings demonstrate that inter-racial competition under colonial rule in Nigeria was racialized in the media. In addition, it also shows that media ownership interest was critical in reporting football and race during the period.