By Jacob Ajom

After the lull witnessed last year because of the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on almost everything, sporting activities sprang back to life this year in full swing, even as teams began the new season under strict observance of the Covid-19 protocols.

Games began in empty stadia until some measures were put in place to relax some of the stringent protocols. Fans began returning to the stadiums and the excitement returned.

So far, it has been exhilarating even as the number of fans admitted have been limited, in some cases.

Before the season began, the Champions League final was a huge event that featured two clubs from the Premier League; Chelsea and Manchester City.

It was a battle of the titans as Pep Guardiola, who had before then, been beaten twice by Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea was out for a revenge.

After 90 minutes of a highly exciting final, Tuchel’s men won the match and punished the 2019 finalists with a lone goal that proved to be the winner.

DStv and GOtv subscribers watched all the drama and excitement that enveloped the historic final.

In June, Europe erupted with fireworks as the postponed Euro 2020 tournament was staged between June 11 and July 11, 2021.

Twenty-four national teams competed in the tournament and played 51 matches across 12 cities. The semi finals and the final took place at Wembley in London.

Incidentally, England got to the final but lost on penalties to Italy. It was a match to remember as the Azzurri, clearly the better side, broke the hearts of England fans.

The 2021/22 European football season which has been very entertaining and worth the pre-season hype, began in August.

The pre-season build up, the transfer window and particularly, the millions of euros spent by clubs to acquire new legs and the general movement of players were a daily feature on SuperSport Blitz Channel 200.

The hype on the new season heightened fans’ interest. During the transfer window millions of fans around the world witnessed the live coverage of the inevitable, but emotional departure of Argentina prodigy, Lionel Messi from Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain.

As if that was not enough, the dramatic return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United on deadline day deal was monumental, in many respects. Very few thoughts of its possibility. But it happened.

The season has been full of drama and surprises in both the various domestic leagues and the Champions League in particular.

Of particular mention is the emergence of new clubs in the mix, attempting to turn the Apple Cart and impose a new order in European football.

Clubs like Brentford, Brighton in the Premier League, the Moldovian champions, Sheriff Tiraspol, Young Boys and Club Brugge in the Champions League have made the season an unforgettable one already.

Barcelona fans were left wondering why their perennial champions would struggle inside Nou Camp to hold Grenada of all teams. Manchester United and Real Madrid fans were silenced by Young Boys of Switzerland and Sheriff Tiraspol respectively, with defeats in the ongoing Champions League Group stage.

Messi announced he has finally settled at PSG with a trademark goal against Manchester City penultimate Tuesday night in Paris. Ronaldo’s home coming to Old Trafford has been a hit, scoring in the first three matches he played for United.

All the thrills and frills of these competitions have been brought to the homes of Nigerians by premier content provider in entertainment and sports, MultiChoice Nigeria through the SuperSport channels on DStv and GOtv.

The organisation has the exclusive rights for live transmission of three of the top five football leagues in Europe, namely the Premier League, Spanish La Liga and the Italian Serie A to Sub-Saharan Africa.

With an avalanche of stars in the aforementioned leagues, Nigerians rush every weekend to viewing centres to watch their heroes do their thing on match days.

The exploits of Super Eagles stars like Napoli’s Victor Osimhen who netted 6 goals from five matches and topped the scorers’ chart for the month of September, Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi both of Leicester City, Frank Onyeka of Brentford, William Troost-Ekong, Ogenekaro Etebor and Emmanuel Dennis of Watford, make the cable network very appealing.

Apart from football, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, so far the biggest sporting events this year, were accorded prime place in the schedule by the digital tv network.

DStv and GOtv dedicated eight channels each to the coverage of the quadrennial games, giving millions of viewers across the world live coverage of the games.

Apart from live reports, there were channels dedicated to the history of the Olympic games, focusing on African stars, past and present.

This gave viewers the chance to see live events, highlights, interviews and in-depth documentaries.

The network with its rich resume in sports and entertainment, covers all sports including Golf, Cricket, Formula 1, Basketball, Baseball and Softball Ice Hockey, Horse Racing, among others.

The football season is just six weeks old and fans have already started talking about likely winners of the various leagues and the Champions League.

With the turns and twists being observed so far, it is very premature to risk any prediction. But the fun continues.

MultiChoice is bringing all excitement of the 2021/22 football season.

Vanguard News Nigeria