The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Olusade Adesola on Wednesday poured encomiums on the leadership of Nigeria Football Federation for its well –tailored, comprehensive and articulate 2018 FIFA World Cup plan for the Super Eagles.
Adesola, who represented the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports (Barrister Solomon Dalung) at the unveiling of the plan at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, noted: “The present administration preaches transparency, and this is exactly what the NFF has done here. They have brought everyone on board and laid out their plan in good time, even asking people to contribute.
“This is commendable. I see a lot of excitement among the leaders of the football community here and I am equally enamoured by the clear –cut nature of the World Cup plan,” he said while also assuring that the Federal Government is working to ensure that the pitch of National Stadium, Abuja is revamped in good time for the Eagles’ pre-World Cup friendly against the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday, 28th May.
Leading members of the Nigerian Football family as well as stakeholders also hailed the NFF’s well –articulated World Cup program, which included venues and dates for six pre-World Cup friendly matches, kit launch, camping programmes and venues, the team base camp, sponsors’ event and how the team will travel during the World Cup finals proper.
Meanwhile, organizers have now confirmed to thenff.com that the international friendly between the Super Eagles and Poland on 23rd March will take place in the city of Wroclaw, and not Warsaw, the capital.
On the five –year partnership agreement between the NFF and Coca-Cola, which conferred on the beverage giant the title of ‘Official Soft Drink and Co-Sponsor of the Nigeria National Teams,’ Adesola said the Federal Government’s unwavering support and the NFF’s diligence, which ensured 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, has enabled the environment for corporate organizations to journey back to sports sponsorship in droves.
“Indeed, the journey to this epoch making event was made possible by the qualification of the Nigeria Super Eagles for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals holding in Russia. The event of today would not have been possible but for the dogged support and commitment of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR to the success of the Super Eagles. Like no other times, the NFF prosecuted the qualifying matches without having to go with cap in hand. The entire sports community express sincere gratitude for the support by the Federal Government.
“In spite of government’s commitment to the development of sports and its sponsorship, the scarcity of resources as well as competing demands by other sectors such as education, health, internal and external security, agriculture, road infrastructure, energy and the like have greatly constrained Government’s desire to adequately finance sports. As a result, and in tandem with global best practices, this administration is championing greater private sector participation in all sectors of the economy including sports.”
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