Abuja - The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) on Thursday in Abuja said it was ready to host the international friendly between the Super Eagles and Arsenal FC of England.
NFA’s Chief Media Officer, Ademola Olajire, said in a statement that the game’s match agent, Eurodata Sports Marketing, has concluded arrangements with DanJan Sports, the promoters of the encounter.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match is scheduled to take place at the mainbowl of the Abuja National Stadium on Aug. 5 in spite of the current poor state of its pitch.
``This will be a great opportunity for the Stephen Keshi-led senior national team to further build on its development process,” the NFA statement said.
It said the match was being facilitated by Guinness Nigeria PLC as part of the company’s commitment to the association to bring world-class teams to play against the Super Eagles.
Meanwhile, reacting to media reports that Arsenal FC would re-grass the stadium’s pitch before the match, the Stadium Manager, Katmwan Dungutse, said such a move might not be in the pipeline.
He told NAN he had not received any document on the matter.
``I have not seen any document on the award of contract for the re-grassing of the stadium’s mainbowl which is expected to host the game.
``It is not something I can comment on unless I see documents in connection to that,’’ the Stadium Manager said.
A NAN correspondent who visited the stadium’s mainbowl on Thursday reported that the only attempt being made to maintain it was the presence of labourers.
The labourers were seen uprooting weeds found on the pitch.
It was however observed that the pitch was full of sandy patches and dry grasses.
NAN recalls that the Committees on Sports at both the Senate and House of Representatives had at different occasions in May 2012 inspected the stadium to ascertain its condition.
Dungutse had, during the inspection, said the grass dried up as water could not be pumped to wet it.
The stadium manager said the facility’s power supply was cut off after miscreants in November 2011 vandalised the underground cables which supplied electricity to the mainbowl.
Electricity supply has however since then been restored at the mainbowl, months after the stadium was thrown into darkness.
NAN
