December 09, (THEWILL) – Four elite Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) teams are set to trade tackles in an invitational competition this weekend, bringing the recently refurbished MKO Abiola National Stadium main bowl its first taste of competitive football in many years.
Daniel Amokachi, who is President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Adviser on Sports, and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development are working together to facilitate this pre-season competition.
They have dubbed it the “Presidential Cup” in honour of President Buhari, according to the former Super Eagles striker. And, on the modalities involved, Amokachi provided this information:
“Akwa United, Kano Pillars, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars are the teams lined up for this tournament. There will be appearance fees for the teams and their feeding plus accommodation will be taken care of.”
The four NPFL clubs are set to arrive in Abuja on Thursday, December 9, according to those in charge of organising the competition, with the first match scheduled for Friday, December 10.
By way of fixtures, there will be two games daily, the second of which will be played under the stadium’s floodlights. The event is set to culminate on Sunday, December 12, with the teams departing Abuja on Monday, December 13.
As THEWILL reported, the Stadium was recently given an upgrade at the tune of about $1 million by the Dangote Group under the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare’s Adopt-a-Pitch Initiative, which aims to use private collaborations to boost the development of sporting infrastructure in Nigeria.
The Dangote Group completed the edifice’s main bowl rehabilitation, which began in 2020, on Friday, December 3, turning it over to the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
