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Bowling · History

History of Bowling in Nigeria

One of the oldest games in the world and one of Nigeria’s newest sports, told in our own words, with a timeline.

Bowling balls and pins

Hero photo: RCraig09, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The story

From ancient Egypt to Abuja

Bowling might have been recently introduced as a sport in the country but it has long been played as a recreation game in major cities in Nigeria such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

The game generally is not so popular in Africa and its origin can be dated as far back as 3200 BC, which made it one of the oldest games in history and it originated from Egypt and Roman Empire of the ancient times when the game was as of then played by covering corn husk with leather which is held together by a string serving as a bowling ball.

There are many speculations of how long bowling has really existed. In the 1930s, an Egyptologist named Sir Flinders Petrie who was British, found artifacts in a boy’s grave in Egypt which includes what looks like a bowling ball used in the primitive times and which is believed to be more than 5000 years old.

Another German researcher, William Pehle, came up with his evidence as well that the game of bowling has long been in existence since around 300 AD in Germany where a ball was thrown towards objects just like in recent bowling games.

With the introduction of bowling as a sport in Nigeria in the year 2005, there have been various sporting centres established to improve the sport/game all round. One of such bowling centres is the Dome Brunswick Bowling Centre which is located in Abuja FCT, it is the first ever bowling centre in West Africa which has 6 bowling lanes.

Other bowling centres in Nigeria include Trukadero Bowling Centre still situated in Abuja FCT, The Ventura Mall Bowling Alley in Ibadan and Let’s Go Bowling which is located in Lagos, and which is fully equipped with 10 bowling lanes.

Mr. Olubunmi Gabriel introduced the game of bowling in the year 2005 and in 2010 Nigeria Tenpin Bowling Federation (NTBF) successfully arranged the “Star of Nigeria got Talent” bowling competition for the first time which was regarded as the first step of the five-year development program in the country.

A child bowling at an indoor alley
Photo: FrogsLegs71, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verified timeline · checked 29 September 2026

Bowling timeline

  1. 3200 BCObjects resembling bowling balls and pins are buried in an Egyptian grave, found by Sir Flinders Petrie in the 1930s.
  2. About 300 ADGerman historian William Pehle dates an early form of bowling in Germany.
  3. 1952The international bowling federation, today the International Bowling Federation, is founded.
  4. 2005Olubunmi Gabriel introduces organised tenpin bowling to Nigeria and founds the NTBF.
  5. 2010The “Star of Nigeria got Talent” programme recruits 27 bowlers to the national squad.
  6. 2011The federation is registered as a company (RC 951027).
  7. 2018The Bowling Federation of Africa is founded in Cairo.

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Quick answers

History of bowling: quick answers

Who introduced bowling to Nigeria?

Olubunmi Gabriel, who introduced tenpin bowling as an organised sport in 2005 and founded the Nigeria Tenpin Bowling Federation.

How old is bowling?

Very old: objects resembling a bowling set were found in an ancient Egyptian grave dated to about 3200 BC, and forms of the game were played in Germany around 300 AD.