The Minister For Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has commended The Super Eagles on their historic win against São Tomé and Príncipe in their second Group A match of the 2023 AFCON Qualifiers on Monday evening.
Victor Osimhen found the back of net four times, Terem Moffi got brace while Moses Simon, Oghenekaro Etebo, Ademola Lookman and Emmanuel Dennis each scored one goal to hand Nigeria an emphatic 10-0 victory at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir, Morocco.
The result implies Nigeria recorded their largest win margin in history breaking the 63-year-old record of 10-1 win hammering of Dahomey, now Benin Republic in the preliminary round of the Kwame Nkrumah Cup in 1959 in Lagos. Nigeria.
While commenting on the country’s historic victory, Honourable Sunday Dare heaped praises on the players for an impressive performance in the game, stating that victory against the Central Island nation is just the beginning of the rebuilding process.
“I congratulate the Super Eagles for this historic victory. It was not just the result but also the performance. It clearly confirms that the rebuilding process of the team is on course. This is a morale boosting performance and I commend the team, the coaches, the players and their officials for this.”
He went further to assure the team that the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja will be restored to an excellent state before their next AFCON qualifiers games in September.
“We, as a Ministry, take the responsibility for the state of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja when you play against Sierra Leone.
“The excitement of having the stadium back to life led to a few issues like the overuse and the infestation by a species of termites and bugs.
“We have engaged a new grass consultant and got a hold of these issues and in a few weeks, the pitch will be back in the excellent shape it was before the World Cup qualifier against Ghana last March.
“Every other thing like the water sprinklers, digital scoreboards, Media Centre, Conference rooms, change rooms, medical centre are fully functional and we will have the training pitches 100% ready as well.
“We will continue to appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment to sports and also thank Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his contributions in helping us restore the glory of the stadium from the farmland that it was then to what it is today,” Dare concluded.
