Dikko: Nigeria will bid to host 2028 Formula 1 Motorsport; reveals plans to host Commonwealth Games and co-host the FIFA Women’s World Cup

National Sports Commission, NSC, Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko has expressed Nigeria’s readiness to be the first African country to host the Formula 1 Motorsport in over three decades.
Dikko made the assertion when he met with a delegation of Opus Racing Promotions, Formula 1 representatives at the NSC Secretariat in Abuja.

The delegation led by former Nigerian international footballer Daniel Uchechi outlined the benefits of putting in place the Formula 1 Architecture and hosting F1 races.

“This F1 Architecture is not just for races. It is an event center, and you have loads of people with cars coming here to express themselves from January to December. For Miami in a weekend, they make $2.5b.

‘That is just a weekend of F1 race in Miami just one city. Nigeria is bigger than Miami. You can then imagine what that will do for the Nigerian economy.

“It transcends from one day of a race to something more regular because this is a hub where people come to use their cars. Legally, we can make $3.5b every year. That is what this can do for the economy. It is a huge revenue generator,’ said Uchechi.

To this end, the F1 representatives are collaborating with the NSC on the feasibility of Nigeria bidding to host the 2028 Formula 1 Motorsport, preferably in Abuja. The delegation believes that the bid would be a propeller to developing the F1 Architecture and harnessing the immense benefits thereafter.

They pointed out that Rwanda and South Africa had officially bided to host the event but expressed excitement at possibility of Nigeria joining the fray.

In his comments, Dikko assures Nigeria will bid for the event.

“The day Rwanda threw in a bid; I was speaking with a big industry player in the country and he asked me why Nigeria won’t bid. All the people in top government circles that I have spoken to about this are very excited. The consensus is that we should bid, and we will.

“We are taking a road less traveled. We are doing things anew in this country in the sports reforms we are embarking on in line to the Renewed Hope Agenda and Shared Prosperity vision of our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR.

‘It will be extremely exciting and ceiling breaker to identify Nigeria with Formula 1. We have to stand out in Africa. If this is happening in the continent, we have to get involved,’ said the NSC supremo.

According to Mallam Dikko, this aligns with the Commission’s plans to host international tournaments across all sports.

His words, “There are plans for Nigeria along with other friendly countries to bid to co-host the Women’s World Cup in the future. But we are not doing only football. We are currently hosting the African Women Volleyball club Championship in Abuja and about 24 African countries are involved.

‘We hosted the African Traditional Wrestling Tournament a few weeks back with about 11 countries participating. We have several other continental and global competitions across several sports already confirmed and lined up.

“Going forward, we are interested in hosting the Commonwealth Games and African Games, the reason why we are being very intentional toward investing in upgrading our sporting infrastructures across the country.

‘And now this Formula 1 race. We should be very bold to get it done. This is the type of actions that our dear President likes. He is very bold and intentional in his decisions with eyes always on resetting towards a prosperous future.

‘Thus we have to tag along. Hosting the Formula 1 is very ambitious, but we are committed to explore all possibilities to getting it done as it aligns with our RHINSE programme”, he said.