As preparations for the return leg of the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Ghana heats up in Abuja, Chairman of Katsina State Football Association, Aminu Kurfi Balele, has declared his interest to team up with other patriotic Nigerian businessmen, even if they have to buy all the match tickets and distribute free to members of the public.
Speaking on a radio show monitored in Lagos, he expressed his disappointment with the decision of the government and NFF to ask soccer fans to pay as much as N2,000 for entry tickets to the stadium.
” I’m totally against the decision of the sports minister and the NFF to place such price on the match tickets. If we actually want to fill the Abuja stadium to its capacity, the gates should be thrown open for free entry.
Kurfi, popularly known in the football community as Dan Arewa, further disclosed that he was initially not in support of the choice of the Abuja stadium. He noted that Abuja residents are mostly civil servants who would rather return home after work than go to the stadium, unlike residents of Kano, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, and Port-Harcourt.
” We saw how the stadium in Ghana was filled to the brims. And we can only get such crowds in Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Port-Harcourt because of their love for the game. That’s what we want and the only way to achieve that in Abuja, is to make the entry free for the fans. We must win and qualifier for Qatar.”
Balele who is renowned for his immense contributions to grassroots football development continued, ” We must fill-up the Abuja stadium and do everything we can to ensure we qualify for the world cup.
” It is not enough to provide free buses to the stadium. Even if it means reaching out to richer Nigerian businessmen like Adenuga and Dangote, we shall do it,” he added.
