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The thought of Nigeria ever hosting the FIFA World Cup has got football fans online talking with funny replies and outlandish scenarios
Since the first edition in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has been hosted only once in Africa, the historic 2010 edition in South Africa.
The main reason African countries have not hosted the World Cup more despite the widespread love for the beautiful across the continent is ultimately down to the economic disadvantages.
At the risk of generalisation, it is safe to say African countries are poor and function under unique 'third-world' circumstances which are foreign to the rest of global civilisation.
These peculiar circumstances also apply to Nigeria which is where social media users have been able to find humour by imagining what would happen if Nigeria hosted the world.
The best replies to the question - 'What if Nigeria holds a World Cup?'
Twitter/X user @dejiagain set the ball rolling with the question which prompted some interesting responses and here are some of the very best.
The one where NEPA takes light
The same user who posted the original question replied with a picture of Brazil v Switzerland at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in which the floodlights went off for a few seconds.
Of course, this is a reference to Nigeria's epileptic power supply and constant power outages from the service providers popularly known as 'NEPA'.
The one where Neymar steps on 'juju'
An obvious reference to the belief in spiritual powers in most parts of Nigeria, often referred to as 'Juju' or 'Jazz'. Neymar would do well to keep that in mind if he ever visits Nigeria again.
The one where Cucurella cooks street food
This hilarious tweet shows a video of an unknown white man frying 'Akara', a popular street food in Nigeria but the caption takes advantage of his slight resemblance to Chelsea and Spain defender, Marc Cucurella.
The one where the referee's cards are stolen with juju
Another reference to the 'juju' or 'jazz' in the Benin part of Nigeria, the centre referee's cards (Anthony Taylor in this case) mysteriously disappear.
The one where Son Heung-Min marries a Yoruba woman
When this innocent Asian man married a Nigerian woman, he wouldn't have expected to someday be likened to Tottenham and South Korea captain Son Heung-Min.
The one where 'mendem' celebrate Ronaldo's late penalty
Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a penalty in a volatile part of Nigeria would lead to gunshot celebrations according to this Twitter/X user.
The one where Nigeria use 'juju' for Argentina
Another 'juju' reference, this one is pretty self-explanatory.
The one where a snake swallows the trophy and prize money
Seun Kuti as FIFA president Gianni Infantino finding out the trophy and prize money has been swallowed by a snake.
While this particular one might sound outlandish and unrealistic to a foreigner, it actually happened in 2018 that a snake 'swallowed' large amounts of public funds.
The one where kidnappers force Griezmann to introduce himself
Whatever led Nigerian musician Zlatan Ibile to yell out 'Atletico Madrid' mid-song remains a mystery but it worked perfectly for this Tweet.
The one where Lewandowski does 'leg work'
Robert Lewandoski might be forced to learn a different type of 'leg work' if the World Cup ever comes to Nigeria, this Twitter/X user believes it is an effective technique to impress bandits.
The one where Garnacho learns respect
If Garnacho is ever in Nigeria, he better note not to call anyone older than him by name without a prefix of respect such as 'brother', 'boda', 'Mr', 'Uncle' etc.
The one where Luis Diaz's father gets kidnapped again
This one is a bid on the dark side, obviously poking fun at the fact that kidnappings happen more frequently in Nigeria, funny but dark.
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