Following its entry into Nigeria in March, Interwetten has signed Yakubu Ayegbeni as its ambassador for the market.

The ex-footballer scored 95 goals in the Premier League and played 57 matches for the Nigerian national team.

As such, Yakubu becomes a strategic signing for the operator, which it states demonstrates Interwetten's “intent to be in Nigeria for the long term.”

Yakubu said: "When choosing my partners, it is really important to me the chemistry is right and that was immediately obvious after the first talks.

"Interwetten has been a reliable and serious partner in sports for decades, in countries all over Europe. It will be a very exciting partnership and homecoming for me too!”

Dominik Beier, speaker of the board at Interwetten, said: "We are very happy that with Yak we can embrace great things. The passion for football is enormous in Nigeria; footballers are idols.

"It was therefore clear to us that, for the first time in the history of the company, we would be looking to partner with a former Nigerian professional footballer as our official ambassador.”