TheCable

Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, says Aliko Dangote, billionaire businessmen, has agreed to renovate some parts of the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

In June, TheCable reported how the 60,000 capacity stadium had morphed into a shadow of its former self, with dilapidated facilities, grass and refuse littering virtually at every spot.

But on Thursday, Dare told journalists that the renovation will include just the football pitch, light and scoreboard.

According to him, work will begin in the next two weeks.

“Yes, Abuja is coming back up,” he said.

“Already we have gotten Dangote, I can say that he has agreed to bring back the Abuja football pitch, the light and scoreboard.

“Work will start in another one week or two weeks.

“And we will use the same model, we will adopt the pitch model for several of our stadia. Atleast, the three other big ones.

“We are looking at between now and March we should have four big stadia, football pitches, FIFA standard.

“And I think if given time, within a year this country should be ready to host virtually any FIFA soccer tournaments.”

The stadium last hosted a competitive football game on April 12, 2016. The match was the 2nd leg of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Falcons of Nigeria and Senegal.

It also serves as a home to the national football teams, as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.