Siasia inspects, certifies Kaduna stadium

FROM ROMANUS UGWU, ABUJA

THE whole hullabaloo over the suit­ability of Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna to host the Nigeria, Egypt AFCON 2017 qualifier has been rest­ed following the endorsement of the venue by Super Eagles interim man­ager, Samson Siasia last weekend.
The General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Mo­hammed Sanusi, who made the dis­closure in a telephone chat with Daily Sunsports said Siasia endorsed both the stadium and designated hotel after undertaking a visit to Kaduna at the weekend.
“Let me inform you that the newly appointed Super Eagles chief coach, Siasia went to Kaduna in company of the assistant director, technical, to in­spect the stadium and the hotel where the Eagles will stay and he (Siasia) was impressed with what he saw. Siasia expressed satisfaction after inspecting the pitch and the hotel accommodation. Siasia said that the pitch is in good condition,” Sanusi noted.
The chief scribe of the football federation equally revealed that the Glass House in collaboration with the Kaduna State govern­ment has commenced the mobili­sation and orientation of the fans. Beyond urging them to come out in their thousands to cheer the Eagles, we are pushing out a mes­sage on the need for them to be­have well before, during and after the match irrespective of the out­come.
“I can assure you that the be­havior of the fans will not be a problem because this is not the first time Eagles are playing there and we know the fans have always behaved well.”
On whether they have resolved on the amount for gate takings, Dr Sanusi replied: “What I can tell you is that there is certainly going to be gate taking but I can­not tell you how much. Again, it also depends on the magnanim­ity of the state government.”
“The foreseeable security challenges have been taken care of. I want to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that every­thing is in place to ensure out­right victory against Egypt in Kaduna and I am sure the team will take it up from there. I want to also urge Nigerians to support the team with prayers. This is the time to unit