International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: There has been a growing concern among parents and school teachers over the gradual increase in the number of young people who get addicted to viewership of the English Premier League (EPL). Addiction to anything at all, has a way of affecting the pschology and mental concentration of humans and reducing productivity.
Objective: This study investigated how habitual or addictive viewership of the English premier football league affects the academic performance of undergraduates of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted, Using Taro Yamane (1967) formula, 399 were selected as sample size using the Taro Yamane formula from the entire population of students of the Nasarawa State University Keffi, which is 36,791. Simple random sampling was used to sample respondents and 399 questionnaires was administered. The data was gathered through close questionnaire face- to –face. Semi-structured Interview (SSI) and analysed using frequency and simple percentages. Results: The study found that showed that there was high level of exposure to English Premier League on Super Sport by undergraduates of Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Undergraduates of Nasarawa State University sometimes view English Premier League as an extracurricular activity.
Conclusion: Whereas students’ right to leisure is a legitimate one, deliberate efforts must be made to strike a balance between pleasures and studies. To achieve this, both parents and teachers have got huge roles to play. Parents in particular, could periodically pay unscheduled visits to their children in school to provide a bit of monitoring and counselling.