Amaju Pinnick of NFF. Photo: TWITTER/NFF
Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has assured that football fans in Nigeria would soon be allowed back into the stadiums to support their teams.
Pinnick gave the assurance while speaking with journalists at the Osogbo Township Stadium on Thursday during a one-day working visit and inspection of football facilities and academies in the state.
The NFF president said: “The AITEO Cup finals which is coming up in the next three to four weeks will have 50 percent of fans allowed into the stadiums.
“We have to, however, liaise with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Federal Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of our fans.”
Speaking on sports development drive in Osun, Pinnick said he was impressed with the sports academy he visited in Ileogbo, describing it as a novel idea in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Anything about football development is welcome by the football federation and what we have seen in Osun is very new, and something very novel.”
He, however, decried the state of the Osogbo Township Stadium’s football pitch, saying the grass was not in line with NFF club licensing standard.
“We need to talk to the state Football Association (FA) and the state government to re-grass the pitch, because this one is not in line with club licensing.
“The good news, however is that we are here and we will deal with all these issues,” the NFF President added. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Pinnick visited Lanreleke Sports Academy in Ileogbo, the proposed mini-stadium Sites in Iragbiji and Ile-Ife and the Osogbo Township Stadium.