SUPER Eagles and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was left stunned after inspecting facilities at the remodelled Maracana Stadium in Ajegunle, Lagos on Wednesday.
The 19-pitch sports facility, which has a 192-bed space hostel, basketball and lawn tennis courts, table tennis hall, canteen and restaurant under construction, 24-hour power and solar backup, treated water supply and top-notch shower and changing rooms, upon completion, will perhaps become the biggest sporting arena for school-age children in Nigeria.
The facility is courtesy, Chairman, Nathaniel Idowu Foundation, Yemi Idowu.
Ndidi, who along with Borussia Dortmund forward of Nigerian descent Karim Adeyemi donated to the project, told reporters after the inspection that he was left impressed by the state-of-the-art facilities in the complex, which was once a dumpsite and den for robbers in the vicinity.
“To be honest, this is really amazing; it wasn’t like this during my playing days as a young footballer. I’m happy to be here and see how it’s moving on. This is unbelievable because when we were young, we didn’t have facilities like this, special thanks to Mr Yemi Idowu, he made me understand what he was doing and I said I would get involved for the kids,” Ndidi said.
“This is going to go a long way in helping the kids and I can see they are happy playing here. In our time, when we played on the streets and roads, we fell and got injured, so, having facilities like this is an encouragement.”
The 27-year-old, who recently helped Leicester stage an immediate return to the Premier League after one season in the English second tier, added that the country would have produced more outstanding footballers if there were more facilities like the Maracana Stadium aimed at developing young talents.
“Our football would have been amazing if we had these kinds of facilities then. We actually underrate grassroots football, where the kids want to play. When we nurture them from a young age, it gives them confidence to believe in themselves going forward. You can’t just bring a 20-year-old to play football without them having that structure from a young age.
“So, I think this is amazing and I look forward to seeing the kids progress from here.”
