Six geopolitical zones, November, and the former Inter Milan striker paying for it himself. Nigerian sport has always been close to Nigerian politics. This is closer than usual.

Fulham references came off his pages after a 3-2 defeat at Crystal Palace. His manager answered by talking about the training ground, which is the only evidence anybody actually has.

Taiwo Awoniyi went to Coventry for nine million pounds and Aina says he is alone now. A dressing room that carried two Super Eagles has quietly become one that carries a single player.

Silver in Budapest behind Masai Russell, and 75,000 dollars that nobody has to be reminded to pay. The money is the part Nigerian athletes almost never get to take for granted.

A D'Tigress player's reaction to the hundred thousand dollars. A professional athlete describing a one-off bonus as life-changing tells you what the rest of the year normally pays.

Amas Obasogie has been named Bendel Insurance captain on his second spell at the club, with Kayode Oke as deputy. An international choosing the domestic league, and staying, is rarer than it should be.

A former captain lining up with the government's reform effort alongside Shehu Dikko. Nigerian football reform is announced roughly every four years. What would make this one different is a published mandate.

Afreximbank and TopTier Sports Management are staging a legends match in Lagos honouring the 1990s generation. Nostalgia is an easy sell. What that generation is actually owed is a harder conversation.

Tobi Amusan, Nathaniel Ajayi and Onwuzurike head to the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, an event built around large payouts. Nigerian athletics has always had the talent. Payment has been the weak link.

Two goals in Bayern Munich's 5-0 win over Bodo/Glimt. He plays for France. Nigerian football spent the evening discussing a player it does not have, which is its own kind of story.

Eric Chelle gets his centre-forward back and loses a Brighton man in the same week, with Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau to come. Squad announcements are written as news. They are really a running injury audit.

Mohammed Rabiu Zulkifilu of Ranchers Bees leads the scoring race after three goals in a match. The domestic league produces the players everyone argues about later, and gets a fraction of the attention.

A goalless draw in their second group match at the U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland. Nigeria's youth women's teams keep producing results at tournaments the country barely broadcasts.

Olympiacos sacked theirs and Basel sacked theirs, which leaves Bruno Onyemaechi and Nathan Otele starting again with somebody who owes them nothing. This is the least discussed risk in a footballer's year.

A two-year deal at Omonia Nicosia within days of the termination. It reads as a footnote until you notice how many Nigerian players in England spend a season on a contract nobody intends to use.

Two injured centre-forwards ahead of AFCON qualifiers, and a Saudi-based striker on a salary most Nigerian internationals never see. The call-up conversation is really a conversation about where Nigerian talent now goes.

Galatasaray lost 3-1 to Sporting Lisbon without him and forfeited the Champions League win bonus. Three days ago the argument was whether he should play. Now there is a number attached to it.

One hundred thousand dollars per player, paid in naira, completing the presidential reward promised after AfroBasket. Nigerian sport announces prize money constantly. Paying it is the rare part.

Real estate, finance, hospitality and youth work under one group. The interesting thing is not that a famous footballer has businesses. It is how few Nigerian players manage the transition at all.

A 1-1 draw with AS Sobemap in Abeokuta leaves the Flying Antelopes needing a result in Benin. Nigerian clubs keep arriving at continental competition and leaving it early, and the reason is rarely the football.