Abuja Stadium Ready, June

The Abuja National Stadium will be ready in June for the Super Eagles to use for their 2014 World Cup qualifying matches.

The Special Assistant to Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the Sports Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Julius Ogunro, disclosed this yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.

Ogunro said the ongoing rehabilitation work on the football pitch by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc was expected to be completed and handed over to government by the end of May.

The Super Eagles will play their next match against the Harambee Stars of Kenya in the existing round of qualifiers on March 22, while the return-leg will take place on June 7 in Nairobi.

The Eagles will also play another away game against the Brave Warriors of Namibia on June 14.

Nigeria is leading Group F with four points from two matches, while Namibia with three points is second.

Malawi is third in the Group with two points, while Kenya is last with one point.

Ogunro, however, explained that the stadium would be ready for the Super Eagles return-leg World Cup qualifying encounter against the Flames of Malawi on September 6, “all things being equal”.

“You can see that work is going on smoothly and hopefully it will be ready for use in late May or early June.

“The planting of the grass will be done in February and it will take additional three months to be nurtured to standard,” Ogunro said.

The minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, had said in December 2012 that the rehabilitation of the stadium would begin in the New Year.

He said the relocation of the office of the Minister of Sports to the stadium complex necessitated the renovation, and that President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to the stadium in September 2012 facilitated the process.