The newly rehabilitated pitch of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja is set to host a pre-season tournament tagged Presidential Cup. Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sports, Daniel Amokachi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, in Abuja.
Amokachi said the tournament scheduled to commence on Friday, would feature four top Nigeria professional Football League(NPFL) teams.
“Akwa United, Kano Pillars, Lobi Stars and Sunshine Stars are the teams lined up for this tournament. There will be appearance fees for the teams and their feeding plus accommodation will be taken care of” Amokachi said.
He said the tournament would be to unveil the newly re-grassed stadium and test run the facility after it was renovated by Dangote Group under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development “Adopt a Pitch” initiative.
According to him, teams are expected to arrive in Abuja on Thursday while the opening game will be played on Friday.
“There will be two games daily, with the second games expected to be played under floodlights. The tournament is expected to end on Sunday while the teams will depart Abuja on Monday” he said
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dangote Industries Group on Friday formally handed over the renovated pitch to the sports ministry after re-grassing and installation of digital score-boards.