NFF to Ban Use of Stadia for Non Sporting Activities Nationwide

  The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are planning to ban the use of football stadia for non-sporting activities nationwide. The Chairman of Enugu State Football Association, Chidi Offor-Okenwa, said in Enugu on Wednesday that the ban has become pertinent in order to slash the maintenance cost of these stadia. The NFF official said the Federation had succeeded in stopping unsporting and extraneous activities such as religious activities, political rallies and state government activities at the stadium as these have led to the deterioration of most sports facilities in the country. “The good people of Enugu State and of course, the government of Enugu State appreciates the fact that stadia in Enugu State are purely for sporting activities. We (presently) don’t have a record of hosting religious activities at the main bowl of Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium” He said. “In Enugu here, the stadium is actually meant for football; it is meant for athletes, it is meant for indoor games and we appropriately put the facilities in use in that vein. So also for Rangers (International FC, Enugu) camp and, of course, the UNEC (University of Nigeria Enugu Campus) stadium” He continued. “We ensure that we don’t conduct any religious activity; any unsporting activity in our facilities. And we take that message to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria to ensure that the (sporting) facilities last and serve the purpose (for) which it was built with the taxpayers money.’’