All The Things We Miss About Playing Monkey Post

Nigerians are very passionate about football. For people born in the 90s, everything about playing monkey post was worth it. Why don’t you take a trip down memory lane and relive some of the things that made this version of 5-a-side street football a huge hit?

1. The owner of the ball was the king

This was probably your first encounter with power and how much it intoxicates. The owners of the balls were pretty much the lords of the field. They dictated everything and can interrupt the play anytime they became irritated or angry with two simple but powerful sentences — “Give me my ball. I’m going home.”

2. These Legends

No words needed here. These balls were everything we needed.

3. Naming the fields

Unused plots of lands were converted into the fields. The best thing about these fields is that they were named after popular stadiums. Maracana, Old Trafford, and San Siro were some of the most popular names.

4. Measuring the length of the goalposts with the feet

To make sure that both goalposts are the same length, someone would do a count with their feet and mark both ends with stones or tyres.

5. All the arguments that broke out

“It’s a goal.” “High ball.” “It’s a penalty,”

Usually, the team who could scream the loudest won the arguments.

6. The times when everyone got caught up in the heat of the moment and set out to injure themselves

Since there were no referees, there was hardly check and balance. And this was a problem because there was no one to break a rough play and caution the offending player. In the heat of the moment, everyone was prone to losing all shreds of common sense and go after the player that had injured them in error, determined to pay them back. More often than not, this turned into full-blown fights.

7. The tense times when an adult got hit with the ball

This could only end in two ways — you either got the ball back after apologising profusely for minutes, or you watched the adult seize the ball or destroy it.