Football General Manager
- Ex-Premier League player moves into F1
- Tries to launch first-ever Nigerian grand prix
- Old striker is key person in African bid
The Times states that former Burnley and Watford man Marvin Sordell, who is co-chief executive of Opus Race Promotions, is chairing a F1 proposal that has ‘early support’ from the Nigerian government. The plan is to host a grand prix in the capital, Abuja, in addition to building a kart track, hotels, a technology hub, and more.
South Africa has hosted F1 races before, between 1967 and 1993, but Africa has not welcomed the sport to its shores for more than three decades. The report adds that in April, Opus held discussions with the chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, and a month later, it was officially appointed to negotiate with F1 and the FIA, the sport’s governing body, on behalf of the Nigerian government. There is still a long way to go, however, before this can become a reality.
At the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton stressed the sport needs a race in Africa next.
He said: “We can’t be adding races in other locations and continuing to ignore Africa, which the rest of the world just takes from. No one gives anything to Africa.”
While Nigeria hopes to host a F1 race one day, the report adds that the most likely new entrant is Thailand after the country’s government agreed to provide around £890 million ($1.2bn) of funding for the race to take place in Bangkok. That street circuit could debut in 2028.
