Abula - Nigeria's indigenous game with lofty ambitions

Abula is played on a rectangular court by two teams of four and has similarities to volleyball

On a school playground in Lagos four decades ago, a new Nigerian sport was born. Today, its players believe it has the potential to gain interest across the world.

Abula, a fast-paced four-a-side court game named after a popular delicacy enjoyed by the Yoruba people, was invented in 1984 by Elias Yusuf.

It is similar to volleyball, although players use a rectangular bat instead of their hands to hit the ball over a central net.

"I was a teacher of physical education when the idea of Abula occurred to me," Yusuf told BBC Sport Africa.

"Abula combines four classes of food in one meal. This game is a conjunction of four by four."

The dish Abula is primarily made from yam flour with assorted beef, vegetable soup from jute leaf, gbegiri soup made from peeled beans, and stew made from a mix of tomatoes and pepper.

For Yusuf, the inspiration for his game was simple - to engage students in an activity that was both fun and challenging.

The first match in February 1984 saw four teachers take on four students, with the latter winning a contest which set the tone for a sport that blends speed, skill and strategy.

Abula is played on a hard court measuring 16 metres by eight metres with a net which is 2.44m from the ground. It demands both teamwork and individual flair.

Players use a special rectangular bat made of wood and rubber, weighing between half and three quarters of a kilogram, to hit a tennis ball.

Once a serve is made a team is only allowed three touches of the ball on their side of the court before returning it to their opponent.

A rally continues until one team fails to return the ball, then a point is earned.

Teams take it in turns to serve four times in a row, with points able to be won while serving or receiving.

The first team to 16 points, or to 20 if scores are tied at 15-all, wins a set. A match is decided over the best of three or five sets, depending on competition rules.

Each side is allowed four substitutes, which can be used twice in a set.

Players must anticipate where the ball will go, position themselves quickly and decide in a split second how best to return it.

"When it comes to Abula, you have to be very smart," said Sylvester Ike, who captained a team from Bayelsa State at the Nigerian National Sports Festival in May.

"You have to be a very quick thinker and have to be mobile. It's a very cognitive sport."

Elias Yusuf based his invention of the game on the principle of a balanced diet, drawing inspiration from Abula, a traditional Yoruba meal

From its simple beginnings, Abula has been a regular event at Nigeria's biennial National Sports Festival since 1998. It is also played at military camps and school sport events in parts of the country.

Just 10 years after being invented it received patronage from the International Olympic Committee through the Sport for All programme and the Nigeria Olympic Committee.

Although Abula is yet to feature at the African Games, that initial recognition remains a point of pride for its pioneers and strengthened efforts to spread it across the West African country.

But Abula faces the challenges that many emerging sports encounter: limited funding, lack of infrastructure and little media exposure.

Courts are not widely available, equipment is often improvised and competitions are infrequent.