Former Super Eagles striker Obinna Nsofor has urged Nigerian sports authorities to put facility upkeep at the centre of their plans, warning that the current condition of key venues could undermine Nigeria’s ambition to host a future Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Key takeaways
- Nsofor called on Nigerian sports bodies to prioritise stadium and sports-facility maintenance to support future AFCON hosting hopes.
- He said Nigeria’s major sporting venues are deteriorating and no longer match the country’s reputation as one of Africa’s football powerhouses.
- The former international criticised the pattern of new stadium projects being abandoned or mismanaged soon after completion.
- Nsofor warned that CAF would not accept substandard grounds for a tournament as prestigious as AFCON.
- He argued that only a small number of Nigeria’s stadiums currently satisfy CAF requirements for international games.
- He singled out Abuja National Stadium, saying an iconic arena should not be allowed to fall into disrepair.
Maintenance concerns and infrastructure gaps
Speaking in an interview on Brila FM, Nsofor expressed frustration at the state of sporting facilities around Nigeria, describing a situation where football infrastructure no longer reflects the nation’s standing on the continent.
He pointed to the fact that billions of naira have been spent on building stadiums in recent years, yet many venues, in his view, have been left without proper attention or have suffered from poor management soon after they were completed. For Nsofor, the absence of a consistent maintenance culture is one of the biggest barriers to progress in Nigerian sport.
CAF standards and the road back to hosting
Nsofor stressed that CAF would not approve venues that fall short of expectations for a competition like AFCON, adding that authorities should confront the current reality instead of assuming everything is fine.
He also lamented that only a limited number of stadiums in Nigeria are presently able to meet CAF standards for international fixtures, calling it disappointing for a country with Nigeria’s football heritage.
In particular, the former Inter Milan forward highlighted the Abuja National Stadium, arguing that such a landmark should never have deteriorated. He said Nigeria would need meaningful funding for renovation, ongoing maintenance, and long-term planning before it could once again approach a confident bid to stage the continental championship.
