U-17 World
Cup: Nigeria Hosts The World
Qasim Akinreti, Lagos
Nigeria
is playing host to U-17 soccer stars and their supporters from
24 countries, FIFA officials and tourists for the 2009 U-17
World Cup Tournament.
The opening
ceremony comes up on Sunday at the Abuja National stadium.
Nigeria and Germany team plays the opening match of the
tournament.
Eight centres
across Nigeria are hosting the events. They are Abuja, Lagos,
Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Ijebu Ode, Calabar and Bauchi.
Free Tickets
and Transportation
In Lagos, the
commercial nerve centre, the state government has made available
hundreds of free tickets and set aside 100 buses to
transport soccer fans to the matches’ venue, the Teslim Balogun
Stadium.
The government
had released another 12 buses to convey students to the
National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos where the FIFA World Cup trophy
has been on display.
The Managing Director, LAGBUS Assets Management Limited,
operators of the buses, Mr Babatunde Disu, said that the buses
had been branded with the World Cup trophy to demonstrate
government’s full support to the 2010 World Cup tournament, to
be staged on the African continent for the first time.
Smoking
Ban
As part of
preparations for a successful hosting of the U-17 games, Enugu
state has banned smoking at match venues.
The state’s
Chief Fire Officer, Mr. Godwin Edeh, said that smoking was
prohibited at match venues because of the risks involved. He
said that apart from the danger of fire, other health hazards
were associated with smoking, thus the move to discourage
smoking at match venues, being public places.
Federal and state fire servicemen would be on hand at the
centres, in the event of any inferno during the competition. The
fire units will operate round the clock at the centres.
Security
The issue of
security is paramount during such events. The Nigerian Police
has expressed its preparedness to maintain law and order at the
centres. The police authorities have advised Nigerians to be law
abiding and to exhibit good conduct at the centres.
The Bauchi State
Police Command has called on the publics to be security
conscious, saying security officials were ready for the
championship.
Approval
The leader of the Netherlands team, Pipt Hubers has expressed
satisfaction with the state of facilities at the UJ Esuene
stadium in Calabar, one of the centres in south eastern Nigeria.
Mr. Hubers, on arrival with his team said the condition of the
facilities gladdens him.
He
however said his team may face great challenges because the
players have not been together for a long time but, would put in
their best.
The first match in Calabar on October 24th will be
between the Iranian team and the Gambian Young Scorpion. The
second match on the same day will be between the Colombian
Lions and the Dutch Lions of Nederland
Additional
Reports from Vin Oliji, Calabar
