The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), through its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, and TopTier Sports Management have announced plans for a landmark Legends Football Match to celebrate Nigeria’s celebrated mid-1990s football generation. The match, scheduled for 8 November at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan Lagos, will form part of the CANEX WKND 2026 programme and bring together football icons from Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
The event will mark 30 years since Nigeria’s historic 1996 Atlanta Olympic triumph, while also celebrating the generation that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations and represented Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Temwa Gondwe, Director of Creatives and Diaspora at Afreximbank, said the initiative was designed to celebrate the achievements of a generation that helped reshape perceptions of African football while creating new conversations around the future of sports and the creative economy.
“The 1996 Super Eagles did more than win Olympic gold; they re-wrote the global narrative, proving to the world that African talent is an unstoppable force,” Mr Gondwe said.
He said the Legends Game would demonstrate the connection between sports, entertainment and culture while providing “a strategic and formidable platform to discuss the future commercialisation and empowerment of African athletes and creatives globally.” Chichi Nwoko, Founder and CEO of TopTier Sports Management and What Media Group, said the initiative was both a tribute to the players and an opportunity to examine how athletes can be better supported during and after their careers.
“Thirty years ago, a generation of Nigerian footballers showed the world what African talent was capable of. The Legends Football Game is our way of saying thank you to them, and our chance to ask harder questions: what are we building for this generation and the next?” Ms Nwoko said.