The Key Sporting Events to Watch in May 2023
As we continue to hurtle through the year, it won’t be long until we enter the month of May.
This is a fantastic month for fans of sport, with big finales, majors, world championships, and other notable events taking place in all four corners of the globe. It’s an especially exciting month for Nigerian players, with several key players and events on the fields. Read on for more details.
English Greyhound Derby
One of the most thrilling sporting spectacles will surely be the English Greyhound Derby, which you should be able to watch via your bookmakers’ live-streaming channel.
The heats get underway in May before the grand final on June 1, with dogs such as Fromposttopillar, Hopes Paddington, and Ballinbola Ed all showing form heading into the event.
With dog betting widely available in Nigeria, you can bet on favourites to win or take a chance on an outsider like defending champion Romeo Magico (33/1) or Kaluki (50/1). Watch the action live on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
End of the European Football Season
There’s a stack of Nigerian players set to be involved in nerve-wracking games leading to the end of the European football season.
Victor Osimhen looks set to be crowned a Serie A champion with Napoli while qualifying for next season’s Champions League is on the minds of Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal), Zaidu Sanusi (Porto), and Ademola Lookman (Atalanta).
— Victor Osimhen (@victorosimhen9) January 31, 2023
For others, it’s relegation that needs to be avoided. The likes of Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Joe Oribo are in the thick of the Premier League demotion battle, while Kevin Akpoguma’s and William Troost-Ekong’s Hoffenheim and Salernitana are in dire straits in the German Bundesliga and Italian Serie A respectively.
English Championship Play-Off Final
It’s been described as the richest game in football, with the winner going on to earn an estimated £265 million.
The victor of the English Championship play-off final on May 27 will be promoted to the Premier League, with all the riches that brings.
There could be some Nigerian players involved in the high-stakes occasion too. Semi Ajayi’s West Brom and Maduka Okoye’s Watford both have a chance of making it to the play-off games.
Kentucky Derby
As recently as 2019, a staggering 150,000 people headed to the Churchill Downs to watch America’s most popular horse race, the Kentucky Derby.
More than $175 million (£142 million) was wagered on the race last year, with the best three-year-old thoroughbreds in the business looking to emulate the achievements of the legendary Secretariat, the Triple Crown winner who set the fastest time ever recorded in the  Kentucky Derby back in 1973.
Table Tennis World Championships
Did you know that Nigeria could have a new world champion this May – crowned on African soil, no less?
Get to know him better with some Quickfire Qs with Quadri Aruna 🇳🇬🎤💭 pic.twitter.com/Et76A13GAI
— World Table Tennis (@WTTGlobal) March 22, 2023
Durban will play host to the table tennis World Championships, and Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has an excellent chance in the men’s singles.
Aruna is the first African and the first black man to make it into the world’s top ten rankings, so can this trailblazer bring the trophy home to Nigeria in the middle of what is set to be a fantastic month of sport?
