AFCON 2025
Former Green Eagles (now Super Eagles) captain Chief Segun Odegbami has expressed his delight at the remodelled Waari City Stadium, calling it “an eighth world wonder” after an inspection on Tuesday.
Odegbami, in his remarks, added that he felt like playing football again and went on to reveal that an adequate playing surface remains the biggest problem in Nigerian football.
The former forward also praised the contractor, Lare Adeleke, for the quality of work done in bringing the stadium back to life after several failed attempts over the years.
“This is the Eighth Wonder of the World, and I feel like playing football again. I have always said that the biggest problem in Nigerian football is the pitch. If you must sell as a trader, you must have a good product.”
“What this contractor, Lare Adeleke, has done here in Warri City Stadium, nobody has ever done it, and I want to commend him for this good job.”
Former Super Eagles midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, was also part of the entourage that toured the Warri City Stadium and said, “This pitch has given me hope that our football will be great again.”
The Warri City Stadium has come of age after failing to pass a FIFA-led inspection in 2009. It has since then undergone several renovation attempts under the previous administration of Delta State.
However, Governor Sherriff Oborevwori contracted Peculiar Ultimate Concern Ltd to do a complete renovation of the stadium, and the work is now at an advanced stage, with new tracks set to be installed soon.
While explaining the project, Mr Adeleke said his team achieved a breakthrough by solving the perennial drainage issue that has plagued the stadium over the years. “Now, we have four discharge points to drain out the water. We also have six layers underneath the pitch before we laid the paspalum grass, which is the first in Nigeria. We have done the same in Lagos, and in the next few years, we will have four to five stadiums with this type of grass in Nigeria. We are installing one in Yenagoa, and the Delta State Governor has promised to do the same in Asaba.
He went on to reveal that Nigeria is projected to have 10 stadiums with modern pitches over the next few years.
“At the moment, Morocco, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda are ahead in Africa with more modern football pitches, and our projection is to have as many as 10 stadiums with modern pitches in the next couple of years,” Adeleke stated.
