Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja is said to be now in deplorable state less than a year after Dangote Group of Companies renovated the structure.
It was gathered that the renovated stadium, which was initiative called ‘Adopt-A-Pitch‘, was handed over to the Federal Government yen months ago.
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Adopt-A-Pitch was introduced with the aim of inviting private sector collaboration to uplift sports facilities in Nigeria.
According to ThePunch, the bumpy pitch didn’t allow for free flow of the ball when the Super Eagles beat Sierra Leone 2-1 in an AFCON qualifier on Thursday, while the grass in some parts were gone.
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During the Eagles versus Leone Stars clash, it said that the ball wasn’t normally each time players from both teams tried to keep control of it.
Speaking about the condition of the pitch, former Eagles goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, said:
The pitch was not pleasant for play but kudos to the players who gave their best to ensure that the Eagles won after the early setback. It is hard to believe that the pitch is back to its old state again.
Before the Adopt-A-Pitch initiative came up, the stadium was in a deteriorated state and a national embarrassment to the country.
The renovation was carried out by local contractors, Aron Nigeria, who reportedly made use of pure dynasty pas palum, which is said to be the latest grass technology in the world, which will also be used for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, as well as latest digital technology for the scoreboards.
The rehabilitation of the stadium, which was sponsored by the renowned businessman, Aliko Dangote, reportedly cost $1m.
The revamped pitch was completed with nursery beds, two digital scoreboards, 24 sprinklers and a two-year maintenance plan, as part of the contract reached with Dangote Industries under the Public-Private Partnership initiative of the sports ministry.
This renovation enthralled the Special Adviser to the President on Sports and former Super Eagles captain, Daniel Amokachi, who took to Twitter to troll Ghana ahead of their 2022 World Cup playoff against Nigeria in March.
Amokachi, used the opportunity to troll Ghana for their poor preparations prior to the game.
“We are at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium,” Amokachi said in a video he shared on Twitter on March 19.
He stated;
We are ready. Look at how beautiful the pitch is, look at how beautiful the stadium is. We are ready but some people are still looking for a venue. Some people are under confusion, you know who I’m talking about.
It is however, unfortunate that three months after this, the stadium which had hosted three international games since the renovation, is now in a bad state.
