Mr Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has described the renovated Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin as a ‘world class’ edifice.
Pinnick stated this in Benin during an inspection tour of the facility ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on November 13, adding that it had undergone tremendous improvement since the last time he visited.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Pinnick was led on the inspection by the Deputy Governor of Edo, Philip Shaibu.
“There is a tremendous improvement compared to the last time I came, the turf is very brilliant, it is what you see in world class facilities. I thank the government of Edo for this facility and we are proud of this achievement,” noted Pinnick.
He continued: “The Super Eagles can’t wait to come and play in the state. I’ m in touch with the players, who are all excited to be here to play for the country, especially Ahmed Musa, the captain of the team, whose mother is from Edo and he is anxious to play for the nation and his state.
“The NFF will move into the state on November 9, while the players will start arriving from November 11 and after the game makes preparations to fly to Sierra Leone on Friday or Saturday after the game.
“We are also working because they have seen a lot of people coming into the stadium; we have to observe the COVID-19 protocol to the later. They have written to us officially, this is about 15,000 sitting capacity stadium.
“They want about 6,000 to 7,000 where they will sit out to observe social distancing, so we are going to look at it, we will send a letter to the ministry and also send a letter to the Presidential Task Force, once we get the approval within the next two days we will send.
In his remarks, Shaibu assured that the state was excited to host its first international game in the newly-renovated stadium.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
