Ben Agande Kaduna.
The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare has said that the facilities in the Nation’s leading stadia in Lagos, Kaduna, Ibadan and Enugu will be upgraded through Public-Private partnership
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday in Kaduna after a tour to inspect facilities at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium and the Murtala Mohammed sports Square in the city, Dare said that he is committed to making all facilities at the nation’s stadia meet the global standard.
He said he was in Kaduna to assess the facilities at Ahmadu Bello Stadium and Murtala Mohammed Sports Square in preparation for the hosting of 2020 FIFA U-20 Women World Cup in Nigeria.
According to the minister, the upgrading, management and maintenance of the sporting facilities across the country with particular attention on Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna, National Stadium Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu to bring them back to a global standard.
“I’m here to look at the facilities, the main bowl pitch, the dressing rooms, training pitches, the gymnasium, the press tribune, the media centre because of the U-20 FIFA World Cup next year. I have the athletics tracks which are of international standard.
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“Our focus is on the upgrade, management and maintenance of the facilities. We are working on a business model that would be enticing to investors and facility managers. Our approach will be a public-private partnership venture.
The minister, who said he had a discussion with Governor Nasir el-Rufai, where the Governor laid bare his plans for grassroots sports development and support in the maintenance of Ahmadu Bello Stadium, stated his plans to run all-inclusive participation with the media.
“We will be meeting with the sports commissioners of all the states, sports federations and the sports ambassadors for their input on how best to achieve sports development in the country. We will remind the federations of their responsibilities. We will not reinvent it all, we are going to look at what worked and what has not. We will be bold in taking initiatives to turn sports around” he said.
