Ade Adebisi leading Nigeria's rugby league revolution

On the face of it, there may not be many obvious links between West Cumbria and Nigeria, but the two are now being brought together by the bond of rugby league.

It is just one small part of the work being done by former Whitehaven winger Ade Adebisi to grow the sport in the African nation in his role as Nigeria Rugby League general manager.

Adebisi, who had spells with London Skolars and Featherstone Rovers as well, has spent the last two years building the sport up in his ancestral homeland, including establishing links with clubs in this country, such as Super League sides Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity.

But the link with League One outfit Whitehaven - which includes one of the teams in the Nigerian domestic competition being renamed Lagos Haven - is one that the 32-year-old believes can help in giving players from the country a chance to break into the professional game.

"Whitehaven have got a big track record of that with players from Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, so that's why I believe this is a really significant move for Nigerian rugby with Whitehaven," Adebisi told Sky Sports.

"I really think they'll be able to play an important role in Nigerian rugby and bring over local Nigerian talent to the UK.

"Why I started this is because I wanted to give a pathway for young Nigerians, because rugby league has done a lot for me and I wanted to give back.

"With the partnership with Whitehaven and the others, we'll be able to give hope to Nigerians."

Although Nigeria might be more widely associated football in a sporting sense, there have been several notable players either from or with family links to the country to have played both codes of rugby.

Victor Ubogu and Adedayo Adebayo both starred for Bath and England in union, while Tuoyo Egodo and Nigeria-born Sadiq Adebiyi are currently making their way in Super League at Castleford Tigers and London Broncos respectively.

Another former player of Nigerian ancestry lending his support is rugby league icon Martin Offiah, and the former Great Britain international is excited by the potential in the country, which is aiming to qualify for the 2025 World Cup.

"Nigerians and rugby is not a new tradition, but this is taking it to the motherland and tapping into the talent there," Offiah told Sky Sports.

"I was fortunate enough to play in a couple of World Cup finals and taste that top level of international rugby, and I certainly believe that raw talent is there.

"It's a question of getting the coaching, the financing, and the structure together, and then I do believe Nigeria will be able to compete in 2025."

The 10-team domestic league, which features five teams in the capital city, Lagos, and five in the north of the country, is due to get underway in around one month's time.

That is a precursor to the country hosting the MEA Championships in October, where Nigeria take on Ghana, with the winners facing either Morocco or Cameroon in the final.

Adebisi envisions this as just the start, though, and a reception at the Nigerian High Commission in London, held in collaboration with the 2021 World Cup, on Tuesday gave him another opportunity to spread the word to influential figures.

"I hope this (the MEA Championship) is a catalyst for it, especially with the World Cup getting involved," Adebisi said. "Things can only go higher from there.

"After everything from this is settled down, we're going to go into the women's game, because that is another opportunity to raise the profile in Nigeria.

"A lot of people are going to benefit from this and we're going to give people a lot of hope. It's not just about football, we want to give people a second chance so they can play rugby as well."