Causes of Hooliganism in Sports in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State

This study investigated the causes of hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area of Ekiti state. The prevalence of hooliganism in sports poses a critical challenge to the safety and social fabric of Ikere local government area. Incidents of violence and disorderliness during sporting events not only endanger the well-being of spectators but also undermine the positive impact of sports on awareness of this issues, there exists a gap in understanding the specific factors driving hooliganism within the local context. A survey design of the descriptive research was employed for the study. A sample size of three hundred (300) respondents was used for the study which was selected from the quarters in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State. Purposive sampling technique was used to select four (4) major sports centers within the local government. A self-structured questionnaire was used for the collection of data. In order to validate the instrument for this study, a draft of the questionnaire was prepared by the researcher and submitted to two (2) experts from the field of Human Kinetics and Sports Science, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science, and Technology. Ikere-Ekiti, to vet in order to establish face and content validity. Based on the suggestion that was made by these experts, the item was restructured where necessary and the corrected draft of the questionnaire was presented to the project supervisor for final approval. Reliability of the instrument was ascertained using test re-test method. One quarters that was not selected for the study was used. Twenty (20) respondents were randomly selected from the Ikere town. The instrument was administered on the same set of respondents within a space of two weeks and the data collected was analysed by using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The co-efficient obtained 0.89 as the reliability index of the instrument. Four research question s and four research hypotheses were formulated for the study respectively. Data collected were analysed using frequency counts, percentage, mean and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). Based on the data analysis findings revealed that there was significant relationship between alcohol consumption and hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area. There was significant relationship between insecurity and hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area. There was significant relationship between competition between rival teams and hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area. There was significant relationship between unemployment and hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area. It was concluded that alcohol consumption, insecurity, unemployment and competition between rival teams are the causes of hooliganism in sports in Ikere local government area of Ekiti state. The study recommended that sport stakeholders should ban the consumption of alcoholic among sportier and their supporters out rightly during any sport activities to ensure every participants are in their senses. Government and sport organizers should provide adequate security in every sport arena to disallow any form of interruptions and provide serene environment for sporting activities. Youths should be provided with employment either secular or by empowerment to enable them get engaged for ‘an idle hands is devil workshop’ says an adage..