A strong hit has emerged that Lagos State might get two venues to host matches of next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, should Nigeria go on to eventually be named as the competition’s authentic host, megasportsarena.com reports.
This suggestion was forwarded by coordinator of the bid, Mainasara Illo, who said facilities spotted at Teslim Balogun Stadium and Onikan Stadium, among other cites visit during the tour of a five-man inspection team from FIFA shows that The Centre of Excellence has a lot to offer.
Illo added that all members of the delegation were impressed with what they saw in Lagos, which they concurred has the capacity for two venues in hosting matches of the Female Youth Mundial, should Nigeria get the nod from the global governing body, after studying the team’s report.
The coordinator, however, also pointed out that other venues across the country are also up to the required standards, especially those checked in Asaba, Benin City and Uyo, but said the bid to include Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna was stepped down till a later date.
Illo added: “We had to put up 968 pages of long essay for the hosting bid which FIFA went through before granting the request.
“FIFA has about seven to eight conditions, which must be met before granting the request; which include the availability of venues, capacity to fill the stadium and management of the stadium.
“Others are the readiness of the state to host the competition, how the centres appreciate women football and other facilities such as hospitals and training pitches.
“Lagos is likely to have two centres, one on the island and another on the mainland. All facilities inspected are up to the required standard.
“We also have other centres that we will visit, such as the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba and Goodwill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
“The bid to have the game in Kaduna has been stepped down for now maybe during the next inspection it might be considered.
“For Lagos, all the centres visited are good enough and for others, they will be ready before the competition starts next year.”
