CAF commends Akwa Ibom state and Governor Udom Emmanuel on state-of-the-art stadium infrastructure…
By Mfon Patrick
Head of CAF’s delegation sent to inspect the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo ahead of the CAF Super League, Muhammad Feizal Sidat has commended Akwa-Ibom state Governor Udom Emmanuel for maintaining the state-of-the-art infrastructure which he described as one of the best in Africa.
Sidat, head of professional football at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) expressed satisfaction at the standard of facilities his team inspected ahead of the proposed take-off of the competition in August.
“As head of professional football/stadium inspection at CAF, I must say that we are surprised in a positive way and we are happy to see A-standard facilities in this part of Nigeria,” began Sidat.
“The Ibom Air flight that brought us from Abuja to Uyo was wonderful, the road network is superb and we enjoyed our drive through the town which looks green with some great vegetation. The stadium and the three hotels we have visited are also up to the standard we want, so congratulations to the local authority here,” he added.
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Former African champions Enyimba are pencilled to be among the twenty-four (24) illustrious clubs to participate in the inaugural Super League but the Enyimba Stadium, Aba is not deemed suitable to host matches of such calibre.
Hence, the CAF team came to Nigeria to inspect first, the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja before flying down to the Land of Promise to check on a possible fulfilment on the promise of world class infrastructure.
“As part of the inspection ahead of the CAF Super League, we have visited many countries in the continent but I can say that we are satisfied with what we have seen here in Uyo and I can say authoritatively that the standard of this stadium is good enough for any type of football match.
“We want to congratulate the state government, the stadium management for maintaining this facility. Nigeria and Africa should be proud of this stadium. Football is not all about the stadium when hosting an international competition but also about the city. So we are very happy that we can have all these beautiful facilities in this city and for the fact that CAF Confederation Cup final was played here few months ago, we have trust in the city of Uyo and we look forward to playing CAF Super League and any other Grand-A competition here,” Sidat submitted.
The Six-man FIFA/CAF delegation commends Akwa Ibom state government having arrived Uyo on Wednesday evening from Abuja aboard Ibom Air and carried out inspection tour of Ibom Icon Hotels, Four Points by Sheraton Hotels and Monty Suites before inspecting facilities at the Nest of Champions.
The delegation was taken round the facilities by Paul Bassey, in the company of the Director of Sports in the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Youth and Sports Elder Ifiok Duff, the Vice Chairman Akwa-Ibom State Football Association Mr Sammy Umoh and the stadium manager Mr John Udoh.
