• Loading stock data...
Monday, September 15, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

Why AS Roma Formed a Partnership With the Nigeria Super Eagles

AS Roma - Soccer - Digital Media

The World Cup may feel like a lifetime ago, but it hasn’t been more than three months since all eyes were on Russia. While much of the conversation in the United States centered around the men’s national team’s notable absence, on the other side of the world, another missing team stuck out: Italy.

The lack of one of soccer’s historical superpowers was certainly felt, particularly by Italian club AS Roma. While Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Liga MX, and Ligue 1 clubs were able to support their home country’s national teams, clubs in Serie A were left without a concrete force to back.

Rather than settling for Italy’s absence, notoriously creative Roma found an unlikely new team to support in the Nigeria Super Eagles.

The start of the teams’ relationship dates back to Roma’s upset of FC Barcelona in the Champions League last spring. Following the win, a video of Nigerian radio presenter Mark Otabor calling the match’s final minutes went viral on Twitter and caught the eye of the Roma. Blown away by the passion, Paul Rogers, Roma’s head of digital and social media, remembers that as the minute the club decided to support Nigeria in the World Cup.

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″]

“Even Jim Pallotta, the club’s owner, was blown away by the passion from Mark in the video and [he] actually emailed him personally to thank him and wish him luck with his work,” he said.

From that day on, Roma was Nigeria’s biggest fan and started to post content supporting the national team on its social channels. The club, which is known for its quirky social media personality, saw instant engagement and results from its Nigeria-focused content.

“The humor we used seemed to really work with the Nigerian fans, and just as we adopted the Super Eagles, fans in Nigeria started to adopt Roma as their Italian team,” explained Rogers.

Culture, music, and fashion are all huge parts of Roma’s brand. The club tapped into this in its support of the Super Eagles, remixing the Nigerian team’s viral World Cup kit with Roma’s new kit.

As Roma’s support for the Super Eagles grew on the club’s own channels, a close contact of Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari reached out to thank them for their support and introduce them to the media team at the Nigerian FA.

“As a small way of thanking all the Nigerian fans who had shown us so much love, we initially offered to take a look at Nigeria’s official accounts on Twitter and Instagram and see if we could make any recommendations that could help their social media team ahead of the World Cup kicking off,” said Rogers.

The relationship between the club and the federation grew as the two groups worked together to refine the look and feel of the Super Eagles’ social accounts. To elevate the Super Eagles’ graphics and visual presence, Roma connected the federation with Playing Surface, a graphics partner that the Italian club had worked with last season.

“[Soccer] on social media is a very visual experience but it can be hard to create great graphics that are consistent on the fly,” explained Rogers. “Nigeria’s graphics were OK but they felt a little bit flat when you compared them to the energy of the team and the amazing kit that had taken the world by storm.

“We wanted Playing Surface involved for two reasons. One, their graphics are very creative, and two, their system is built for live football coverage, so even if you don’t have a big staff covering matches or you have to cover multiple platforms in real time, their content management system is both easy to use and really quick.”

With less than a week to go before the World Cup, Roma got them on board and from there, the club, federation, and Playing Surface were all communicating on a daily basis ahead of the tournament.

Rogers emphasizes that Roma’s involvement in the Super Eagle’s brand refresh, which, with the help of Playing Surface, led to higher engagement across its accounts, was separate from its support of the Nigerian national team. In fact, despite publicly supporting the Super Eagles, the club kept its involvement in working with the Nigerian federation a secret until weeks after the World Cup.

“We didn’t do it for publicity, we just did it because we became very passionate about the Super Eagles,” said Rogers.

The teams’ fan bases are similar: both are active and have “a fantastic mix of extreme passion, crazy fanaticism, and funny humor,” according to Rogers. The synergy between the two is so strong that a conspiracy theory has spread suggesting that Roma’s social media admin is actually Nigerian because he or she tweets like a Nigerian.

[mc4wp_form id=”8260″]

As to the validity of this theory, Rogers won’t confirm or deny it.

Going forward, expect the relationship between Roma and the Super Eagles to continue. Just after Nigeria was knocked out of the Roma posted a not-so-cryptic tweet hinting that more fun is to come.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.
Michelle Wu

Josh Kraft, Son of Patriots Owner, Leaves Boston Mayor Race After First-Round..

He challenged Mayor Wu over her support for White Stadium’s costly renovations.

UEFA Delays Overseas Matches Ruling As LaLiga Miami Game Looms

Barcelona-Villarreal is scheduled for late December at Hard Rock Stadium.

Dexter Fowler Wants to Change the Narrative on Athlete Ownership

The former MLB All-Star owns a stake in Premier League team Bournemouth.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) pursues Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025.

College Football Enters Week 3 Up 21% in TV Ratings

Total college football viewership across all networks is up big.
September 5, 2025

NFL’s Expected Early-Season Ratings Boost Gets Off to a Stormy Start

The kickoff game somewhat resembles the delays last year in an SNF game.
Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; General view of a Fox Sports camera station before the game between the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field.
September 11, 2025

Lachlan Murdoch on Fox’s Sports Strategy, FanDuel Plans

The executive calls a forthcoming streaming bundle with ESPN “essential” for fans.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
September 4, 2025

TNT Sports to Try Its Own Streaming App After WBD Split

TNT Sports will have its own app as a corporate split approaches.
Eagles
September 4, 2025

The Death of Streameast Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mirror sites began popping up Thursday, the day the NFL season begins.
September 4, 2025

3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

Miami–Notre Dame led the way with 10.8 million viewers.
September 4, 2025

Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut Draws More Than 6M Viewers on ESPN

TCU-UNC was the fifth-most-watched college football game of Week 1.