Mrs Opeoluwa Adeyemo-Anjorin, MD/CEO, MediaVision Limited

Mrs Opeoluwa Adeyemo-Anjorin is a suave sports marketing and activation specialist who has organized diverse sporting tournaments and activations in the country with decades of experience. In this interview with Tunji Faleye, she talks about challenges in Nigeria’s sports marketing industry, activities of MediaVision Limited and other sundry issues in the industry.

Kindly make an assessment of sport marketing industry? Is the country in the right way in term of marketing sport brands and talents we have in Nigeria?

It’s a bit of a mix in terms of Nigeria been in the right way in Sports Marketing.

Firstly, I would say that there is a profound realization that sports marketing is the only way to improve our sporting presence, establish and properly maintain mainstream sports facilities and discover and properly guide talents in various sports.

However, the actual “doing” is what has faced a lot of obstacles. Mismanagement and poor handling of funds from the very few brands that have invested in our sports means that lots of big brands who can afford to splash on sports are very reluctant to do so. There is a paucity of funds because the willing brands are few.

Moreso, there is a lopsided attachment to football in Nigeria. This means that other sports are lacking and lagging behind in terms of infrastructural and developmental programs.

A lot has to also be done in the area of governance. Sporting structures should be purely managed privately with little or no influence from government. But because a large percentage of all things sports are still heavily dependent on government assisted funding, that is not the case.

All of these directly affects our ability to discover, harness and manage talents. There has to be a proper developmental process put in place for talents to be nurtured to maximum development, this is not the case. A lot of talents are left to fend for themselves including talents that have represented states and the country. This is the main reason for defection of our talents to representing other countries.

Nigeria has talented athletes and a passionate fan base, but the country's sports marketing industry is still developing. To fully capitalize on the potential, Nigeria needs to: Invest in infrastructure, enhance marketing and branding and improve governance and management

What are the challenges confronting sports marketing industry in the country?

This is the field we have been operating in for over 20 years now and I can categorically state that it is not easy but at the same time very doable.

There is a reluctance of private participation in sports. A whole lot of organizations prefer to lavish their funds on entertainment and the likes.

There is also the issue of lack of or poorly maintained infrastructure and again 98% of them are public facilities. While some sports (Football and athletics maybe) may have it better, there are several sports that are completely lacking in facilities and well-run structures. These affects the ability to properly market them.

We have made some progress in the past few years in using sports as a tool to reach out to discerning brands for development especially at the grassroots level, a whole lot remains to be done.

Some of the key challenges include; limited funding, poor infrastructure, lack of effective governance, inadequate marketing and promotion. Others are: talent migration, corruption, lack of data and research as well as inadequate technology adoption.

How are the stakeholders tackling the challenges?

Show and tell – Here we have taken the responsibility of first showcasing these sporting platforms using home grown funding, then we use this as a spring board to bring onboard partners and collaborators.

''First, we convince the private sector of the need to develop sports at all levels but with more emphasis on grassroots. We have also been able to prove that sponsorship funding will be prudently and effectively managed to achieve maximum results.''

Secondly, we meet with public parastatals and agencies in charge of the different sports to enjoin partnership in establishing a win-win collaboration. This allows them to give their cooperation and assistance, technical and otherwise.

Finally, to build a rich and all-inclusive ecosystem, the stakeholders’ niche is expanded to include parents and the general public. This helps drive followership, enthusiasm, participation and influence. These are all ingredients needed for robust sports marketing.

The advent of social media has vastly improved our ability to show and tell and we are constantly and innovatively adopting it to continue to expand our reach.

Lastly, the Sports Marketing field is big enough for many players to collaborate and this is also part of the game plan to continue to breach the challenges sports marketing in Nigeria is experiencing.

Kindly tell us the brief history of MediaVision including the values and philosophy that have distinguished the agency over the years.

As you may be aware, MediaVision Limited, is Nigeria’s Leading Sports Marketing and Activations Company. We pride ourselves in been at the forefront of using sports as a platform for sports and facility development, employee engagement and brand visibility.

MediaVision Limited started in 2003 in publishing. We published Nigeria’s No. 1 Football Weekly called The Game till 2008. We have also produced, managed and marketed a Sports Show on NTA Network since 2005.

Since then, we have evolved into the Leading Sports Marketing & Activations Company in Nigeria with business concerns that span;

Corporate Nigeria. A plethora of sector games that serves as an employee engagement platform for staff of corporate organizations to compete in friendly sports. It helps them keep fit, live healthy and build a work-life balance. Nigeria Bankers Games, Nigeria Telecoms Games, Nigeria Insurance Games, Nigeria FMCG Games, Nigeria Fintech Games, Corporate Champions Cup are some of them.

We provide end-to-end consultancy for blue chip firms who need customized sporting platforms to achieve various company/brand objectives. We conceptualize, project manage and execute these projects on behalf of these clients. We also provide advisory services on a need’s basis. Some of these include Gtbank Principals and Masters Cup, PwC Chess4Change, Fidelity Bank NYSC Games, NUGA Games Unical 2026.

We have also activated various other sporting programs in our effort to develop them in Nigeria and help set the proper trend for its mainstay. Some include; Mxtreme Games, CyberGames, Scrabble for Secondary School, etc.

One of our core competencies is using sports as a viable alternative employee engagement tool to breed employee self-worth, brand loyalty, improved productivity and overall wellbeing of employees. We do this using Internal Games activation. Our clients include organizations like Credit Direct, Friesland Campina amongst others.

Our philosophy and values are cojoined. We operate with the mindset that Sports in Nigeria can and should be self-sustaining. To achieve this, we understand the role that partnerships play to ensure this sustainability.

Therefore, integrity, collaboration and team play are our constant watchword over the years. This has helped us breed goodwill that ensures that brands continue to trust us and so, we continue to be at the forefront of developing a self-sustaining sports industry.

Can you also tell us some of the sports marketing sponsorships/partnerships your agency has been able to broker?

There has been quite a bit; Gtbank sponsoring the Principals Cup in Lagos and Ogun States for over 10 years, Gtbank sponsoring the Masters Cup (initially Heritage Cup) for First Generation Secondary Schools in Lagos State and Fidelity Bank sponsoring the annual NYSC Games in 2012.

Others are: PwC sponsoring Chess4Change in select secondary schools in Lagos for 10 years now, Remita sponsoring the Corporate Champions Cup. NUGA GAMES – We are in the process of securing sponsorships for the upcoming NUGA Games at University of Calabar, Unical 2026.

What is the competitive edge of your agency over other competitors in the industry?

We have been in sports business for more than two decades. Our competitive edge includes; Our years of experience across various sporting brands, our years of experience working across the corporate and public sector and our team of seasoned sports marketers who have also remained at MVL for more than a decade.

Our integrity over the years in delivering exceptional sporting activations, the goodwill and partnership we have developed over the years in the public and private space as far as sports is concerned and our deep love for sports development in Nigeria. All these stand us out in the sport marketing industry.

How is your agency leveraging on digital to remain relevant in a fast-evolving sport marketing industry?

As you are aware, this is at the heart of everything now and we are not left behind.

We are fully engaged on all the social media platforms for promotions, Livestreaming, advertising and various forms of engagement with our indigent stakeholders and the larger sports loving public.

We also understand the dynamics of the digital space and have a team that ensures that we remain relevant.

What should we be expecting from MediaVision in the remaining months of the year, now that we have entered the second quarter?

Our annual Corporate Games fixtures will keep off in earnest in August. We will debut an addition to our Corporate Games portfolio – The Nigeria Fintech Games.

Another Corporate Games event will also make a comeback after a few years absence – The Nigeria Insurance Games. Our biggest annual sporting event, The Nigeria Bankers Games will also hold.

There are two more projects that we hope to execute in the last half of the year, Scrabble Competition in secondary schools and the Powerman Series – a strong man event that will take the nation by storm.

What is your projection for MediaVision in the next five years?

To be a global brand in the Sports Marketing and Activation Industry and help bring diverse international sporting tournaments to Nigeria.  We hope to also become one of the biggest talent management agencies across various sporting fields.

What is your advice to the young people who want to start career in sports marketing?

My advice is for them to get involved now to be completely informed about Sports Marketing.

This means developing passion for sports and how it is run. It would also be helpful to seek out mentors they can learn from and if possible, volunteer their time for sports activations of their liking.

This will go a long way in helping them settle in nicely when the time comes. They will also understand the nuances and follow through with the perseverance that is required.

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