Nigeria’s First National Football Team: The 1949 “UK Tourists

On August 29, 1949, Nigeria’s first national football team, popularly known as the “UK Tourists,” arrived in England after a remarkable 13-day voyage from Lagos.

The 18-man squad departed Lagos on August 16, 1949, aboard the Elder Dempster vessel MV Apapa, travelling as third-class passengers. They arrived at Liverpool Port at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday, August 29, where they were met by the team’s first coach, John Finch (February 3, 1909 – November 15, 1993).

The historic tour marked one of the earliest major overseas football journeys by a Nigerian representative side and became an important chapter in the development of Nigerian football.

A moment frozen in history: John Finch meeting Nigeria’s pioneering 18-man squad at Liverpool Port in 1949 the beginning of an extraordinary football journey more than seven decades ago.