The following of the English Premier League in Nigeria is massive and Arsenal the former club of Kanu Nwankwo enjoys a sizeable chunk of the fanbase. But what happens when The Gunners appear to be taking advantage of its fans?
Arsenal’s deal with Tel Aviv-based company KonnecTo has caused some comment at a time when data harvesting and online security of private information are hot topics.
Intelligence-based data collection and analysis platform KonnecTo, run by ex-Israeli military staff, are one of six start-up companies that the club are partnering as part of an initiative to gain a deeper understanding of the Arsenal fanbase.
But concern has arisen following Arsenal and KonnecTo running an online survey for fans in Nigeria with a competition prize as an incentive.
For by signing up for the survey, fans agreed to let KonnecTo trawl their data on social media at a highly sensitive time on the cyber front — collecting pictures and mentions of brands.
READ: Wilshere rejects Arsenal’s offer, as Man City fight to keep Sterling
Data protection laws in Europe meant that such an exercise would never be allowed but those regulations do not exist in Nigeria.
The north London club say they chose the African country because of their strong fanbase there since Kanu Nwankwo played for them.
A club spokesman added that it was a trial project and all those taking part had given permission for their data to be scrutinised.
Meanwhile, mystery still surrounds who is buying Arsenal shares for a record-breaking price of £37,000 when regulations mean the two major shareholders, Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov, would have to declare any extra purchases.
