Footballers in Enugu State have called on the Enugu State Government to complete the ongoing renovation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium to save football and other sports from total collapse.
Some footballers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Thursday, expressed dismay over the dilapidated condition of the stadium.
The footballers also noted that the condition of the stadium is hampering sports development in the state and not only football activities.
NAN reports that the stadium has been under renovation for two years and no sporting activity has been held at the stadium because the place was locked up.
Coach Anistar Izuikem said that the delay in the completion of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium has affected football as Rangers FC prosecuted their home matches away for the past two years.
“We have just concluded the Nationwide League One (NLO) play off and some other Nigeria Football Federation (NFf) activities also eluded the state.
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“Completion and opening of the stadium will usher in lots of sports activities, especially football.
“It is unfortunate that Rangers and other teams like Giant Brillars and Coal City United, representing the state at the national level, have been playing in substandard pitches,” he said.
Izuikem said he is eager to see his team, Coal City United, play their home matches at the stadium, be they in the NNL or the National Premier League (NPL).
Chidera Pius, a footballer, said that football has been dead in Enugu state for the past two years and needs someone with experience of the game to resurrect it.
Pius said for the past two years, he has not entered entered or play in the stadium, noting the condition of the stadium has been a source of serious concern.
“We are not happy as everybody is finding it difficult to enjoy the game of football as the training pitches which are used as substitutes are also in bad state.
“The Astro Turf at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) and Rangers Training pitch, Liberty Estate, are now a dead trap and eye sour.
“It is heartbroken for footballers in Enugu State to undergo this kind of experience when we feel that we have a sport-loving governor,” Pius said.
Another footballer, Onyekachi Maduka, expressed dismay on the state of football and sports development in the state.
Maduka said that Enugu has been cut off from NFF activities as the body did not give the state a hosting right in 2023 because of the condition of the stadium.
He called on the state government to come to the rescue of football and other sports before it reaches a place of no return.
NAN
