Edidiong Stephen
In view of its nomination as one of the prospective stadia to host the final of this year’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League and Confederation Cup final matches, a team of CAF officials, Sunday, inspected the Godswill Akpabio International stadium in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
The CAF team from Cairo, Egypt, made up of Inas Ahmed Fahmy Ahmed and Shenouda Emad Kamel George accompanied by the Club Licensing Officer of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Mr. Nasiru Jibril, was received by the Tour Guide and Akwa Ibom state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Sir Monday Ebong Uko who was in the company of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Elder Paul Bassey and management staff members of the state Ministry of Youth and Sports.
While expressing the gratitude of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel for the choice of Uyo as one of the potential cities for the staging of the grand finale of the continental showpiece, Mr. Uko assured the visitors of the readiness of Government to provide the necessary logistics for the staging of a memorable occasion should the nomination be confirmed.
Speaking at the end of the inspection tour, the leader of delegation, Mr. Inas Ahmed expressed satisfaction with facilities at the stadium especially its quality of natural grass which he said ranks amongst the best on the continent and pledged to vividly report all that he has met on ground to the CAF hierarchy.
Some ancillary sites which were also visited include the Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort and Ibom Multi-Specialty Hospital among others.
A draw will be held on April 5, after the quarter-finals and semi-finals draws, to determine the “home” team for administrative purposes while the final matches of both CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup have been scheduled for the end of May, 2022.
