The Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has been commended by former Super Eagles player and 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medallist, Daniel Amokachi, for fulfilling a 30-year-old promise made to members of the Nigerian football team that won gold at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Amokachi stated that the governor’s gesture of allocating plots of land to him and fellow Atlanta ’96 gold medallists, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Babayaro, as well as naming streets after some of the members of the victorious squad, had restored their confidence in government.
The former Super Eagles player remarked on Tuesday while inspecting the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, along with other football veterans.
Amokachi recalled the promises made to the Dream Team following their historic victory in Atlanta, claiming that succeeding governments had failed to repay the majority of the pledges made to them.
He said, “When we won the Olympic gold medal in 1996, the federal government and state governments made several promises to us, but 30 years down the line, most of those promises were never fulfilled.
“But Governor Uba Sani has fulfilled his own promise. He has given me, Garba Lawal, and Emmanuel Babayaro plots of land. He has also directed that streets should be named after some of those who have not been immortalized.
“We lack the words to thank him for this kind gesture and for his promise to ensure that veteran footballers and coaches are rewarded during their lifetimes.”
Amokachi, who is also a football manager, praised the governor’s move to honor sports veterans while they were still living.
Lawal, a former Super Eagles player and ex-General Manager of Kaduna United Football Club, also spoke, describing the Ahmadu Bello Stadium’s current redevelopment as a significant development that will restore Kaduna’s status as one of Nigeria’s football hubs.
Lawal stated that once completed, the facility will match international standards and serve as a viable venue for the national team to train and play.
“Now, the Super Eagles will not have to go to Uyo to train. This one is right here at my doorstep. It’s a wonderful project and, by the grace of God, we shall come and unveil it by November,” he said.
Babayaro, another part of the Atlanta Olympic-winning team, stated that Sani had succeeded in reuniting Kaduna’s football family and reigniting the state’s enthusiasm for the sport.
“Governor Uba Sani has assembled the entire football family of Kaduna State, and football is thriving again like we used to know it,” the former goalkeeper said.
Responding, Sani thanked the football veterans, coaches, and administrators for their contributions to the development of sports and football in Kaduna State.
Sani responded by thanking the football veterans, coaches, and administrators for their contributions to the growth of sports and football in Kaduna State.
The governor stated that Kaduna remained one of Nigeria’s top football-producing states, noting that several local players had achieved worldwide success.
“Kaduna is the leading footballing state in Nigeria. We have produced more stars that have gone out of the country and made their marks globally,” he said.
Sani mentioned that his administration was determined to restore Kaduna’s lost glory in sports, particularly football, through investment in sporting infrastructure.
“The last time that any CAF football tournament was played in this stadium was in 2016, when the Super Eagles played against Egypt,” he recalled.
He noted that the poor state of the stadium compelled him to approach President Bola Tinubu to request that the facility be handed over to the state government for reconstruction.
“I made it very clear to him that I will demolish the stadium, which had a 16,000-seating capacity and was built in 1964,” Sani said.
According to him, the freshly refurbished stadium would accommodate 33,000 people, surpassing Uyo’s Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, which seats 31,000.
He said that the stadium’s surface would be a combination of natural grass and synthetic turf.
“When completed, Ahmadu Bello Stadium will be the only stadium in Nigeria with a FIFA-standard pitch,” the governor stated.
Sani stated that Nigeria needed new CAF- and FIFA-standard stadiums, pointing out that the country currently has only one CAF-standard football stadium and none that meets FIFA criteria.
The governor stated that the state government is spending extensively on sports infrastructure due to the economic potential provided by sporting events.
“In the last World Cup that was hosted in the United States, the country made about $20bn to $24bn in terms of hotel accommodation, transportation, and hospitality generally,” he said.
Sani stated that Morocco produced nearly $1.4bn from hosting the CAF Africa Cup of Nations competition, underlining that Kaduna was preparing itself to prosper economically from large sporting events.
