Recently appointed technical adviser of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr has complained about the playing turf of the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, and called for some to be done to ensure the pitch is in good condition ahead of Russia 2018 qualifiers.
Apparently the team struggled in their match against the Taifa stars on Saturday due to the poor state of the pitch and the coach believes the Eagles would express themselves better on a good ground.
It can be shocking to discover that there are no good natural playing turf in the stadiums in Nigeria despite the number of beautiful structures the nation can boast of. The situation is like trying to get water from a rock which is strange but a true state of all the stadiums across the country as the football federation often finds it difficult to select a stadium to host the national team games especially the Super Eagles.
”There’s need to work on the stadium grass before the World Cup home game in November,” Rohr said in a post-match conference after the match against Tanzania which saw the teams struggle to clinch a 1-0 victory over the visitors.
”The stadium is wonderful. It was full for the game. The people love the team and they supported them but the pitch is not so good. We tried to play well on a bad pitch.”Niger
It should be noted that the ”Nest of Champions” as the stadium is fondly called was constructed just two years ago by Gorvernor Godswill Akpabio’s administration, modeled after the Allianz Arena (Bayern Munich stadium in Germany) and we are already complaining.
There is no need to ask what has gone wrong within the space of two years, one can as well probe the maintenance of the Abuja National stadium, National Stadium Lagos and the Ahamdu Bello Stadium in Kaduna to mention a few with natural grass turf. If the Akwa Ibom State government is indeed serious about hosting the Eagles again, then work must begin on the pitch to put it in good state prior to the World Cup qualification campaign.
Dear Sports ministry, there is work to be done!
