This is a very exciting question. Where do you watch football matches? Do you watch it alone at home, with friends, or at a pub house?


Many have their style and the reason they prefer that style.


I am a Nigerian and I prefer watching in ball houses. We call the place ball houses or any nickname given to it. The ball house is just a place setup by someone and you pay to watch the matches. The ball house will have seats and of course the big screen television. You can buy snacks from hawkers or retailers.

You may wonder why can't I just sit down in the comfort of my house and watch the matches.

Well, I tried that before and the experience was not good at-all. I watched the 2010 world cup final and the 2014 Uefa Champions league final at home.

The Robben misses and I couldn't shout. No-one to argue with. No banters.

This is the same with the 2014 Champions league final. After Casillas error that led to Godin goal, I was frustrated. I wanted Real Madrid to win the trophy. Gareth Bale was the chief culprit here. He lost couple of chances. You should see how happy I was when Sergio Ramos scored that header. I screamed and was cautioned by Mum. That was it. No more screams or excessive jubilations. No swear words or screams again. Just a silent match with the match volume at a whisper level.


The joy in ball houses

This is the real deal. You meet different people, throw banters, troll your opponent, sing all kind of funny songs, and argue. You are having fun. You shout till you lose your voice, swear, hit the ceiling. The ball house went crazy when Ronaldo scored that overhead kick against Juventus. We stood on the benches serving as seat to enable us punch the zinc covering the ball house. Everyone was happy.


I remember watching an Arsenal Vs Manchester united FA cup match where Wellbeck scored and we Arsenal fans were trolling the Manchester united fans. We were having fun at the expense of the Manchester united fans. A guy at the back with a very loud voice just said Shame on you gunners. Keep trolling when Ryan Giggs can distribute his cups medals to all your 23 players and still have some left for Arsene Wenger.

There was silence immediately. The Manchester united fans took over and took over the trolling. Those are moments you enjoy when watching ball in a ball house.


Another part is the betting part. I call it ball house live betting. In the course of an argument, you see someone willing to bet certain amount of money or drop his phone. Then the other party accepts the bet. Someone neutral is elected as the bookmaker who checks Google for the result and hands over the stakes to the winner.


A ball house on any premier league match day sees around 200 people while as much as 500 people can be recorded during big matches or UCL matches.


Football here in Nigeria is passion. We love football and live football.