Interwetten has appointed former Premier League footballer Yakubu “Yak” Ayegbeni as its first Nigerian market brand ambassador.

The DACH-focused sportsbook previously announced its entry into the Nigerian market as a core corporate growth objective in its Q1 trading. 

Ayegbeni, who has scored 95 goals in the Premier League, and played 57 matches for Nigeria, will be involved in raising Interwetten’s profile in the rapidly growing Nigerian market through advertising, appearances, and a new social media feature called the ‘Yakubu Tip.’

Discussing the news Speaker of the Board at Interwetten, Dominik Beier, said:

“We are very happy that with Yak we can embrace great things. The passion for football is enormous in Nigeria, footballers are idols.  It was therefore clear to us that, for the first time in the history of the company, we would be  looking to partner with a former Nigerian professional footballer as our official ambassador.

“In Yakubu we feel we have found that perfect partner and look forward to experiencing the excellence of Nigerian football fans for ourselves. We want to ensure that our customers in Nigeria receive the highest quality product, so we were also looking for someone who had set an example of this during his career. We are just at the beginning of a long journey in Nigeria, now it really starts!”

While Ayegbeni himself added:

”When choosing my partners, it is really important to me that the chemistry is right and that was immediately obvious after the first talks. Interwetten has been a reliable and serious partner in sports for decades, in countries all over Europe. It will be a very exciting partnership and homecoming for me too!”

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite a temporary (hopefully) setback due to the COVID-19 crisis, the sports betting industry in Nigeria has been booming over the last few years, with more and more operators getting in on the action, and an ever growing market driven by the proliferation of smartphones and mobile internet access.

Given the country is football-crazy, it makes a lot of sense for Interwetten to hire footballers as brand ambassadors, and we expect to see other operators do the same over the coming months and years. 

Find out more about why Nigeria continues to be a fertile ground for sports betting companies here.

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