Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani is rebuilding the deteriorated Ahmadu Bello Stadium into a 33,000-capacity facility with a FIFA-standard hybrid pitch, as part of efforts to restore Kaduna’s position as one of Nigeria’s leading football centres.
The governor said the reconstruction was necessary to restore the glory of Kaduna football, noting that the stadium, built in 1964 with a 16,000-seat capacity, had deteriorated to the point where he had to seek President Bola Tinubu’s approval to take over the facility.
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“As a government, it is our responsibility to bring back the glory of Kaduna State in the world of sports,” Mr Sani said.
He recalled that the last CAF football tournament played at the stadium was in 2016, when the Super Eagles hosted Egypt.
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Governor Sani said the rebuilt stadium would have 33,000 seats and a hybrid grass-and-synthetic pitch, which he described as FIFA-standard.
Beyond the stadium project, the governor said Kaduna was investing heavily in sports because of football’s potential to generate revenue through hospitality, transportation and other sectors.
The governor’s sports revival programme has also extended to the state’s football veterans. He has fulfilled a promise made three decades ago to members of Nigeria’s 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold-winning football team by allocating plots of land to Kaduna-born members of the squad, including Daniel Amokachi, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Babayaro, while directing that streets be named after other veterans.
Mr Amokachi, speaking after inspecting the stadium project, said federal and state governments had made several promises to the Olympic champions after their historic victory but failed to fulfil them for 30 years.
He thanked Mr Sani for finally redeeming the promise, while Mr Lawal described the reconstructed stadium as a world-class facility that would save the Super Eagles the need to travel to Uyo for training.
Mr Babayaro said the governor had succeeded in bringing Kaduna’s football family together and restoring the vibrancy the sport once enjoyed in the state.
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