Date: 2020-08-28

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, has called on the Kwara State government to immortalise former Super Eagles forward, Rashidi Yekini by naming the Ilorin Stadium after the late soccer icon.

Speaking during a courtesy call on Governor Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the Government House in Ilorin, Pinnick said for the contributions of Yekini to the national team, he deserved to be rewarded by naming the Kwara State Stadium Complex after him.

The NFF Chief was in the Kwara capital to officially inauguration the Football House in Ilorin.

On the project that brought him to the state, Pinnick said that the current team at the NFF remained determined to develop football in Nigeria, particularly at the grassroots level.

He said that the development would assist the NFF to tap young talented stars that can represent the nation in any sporting events .

Speaking on the Football House project, Pinnick stressed that, "When Barrister A.U Mustapha and I decided to go to Accra, Ghana, one of the requests we made was to have a football houses in all the 36 states of the federation.

"We started with six and today by the special grace of God we are commissioning the first one in Kwara State," he said.

"This is quite symbolic because we have the governor that cares. It is quite epochal because we have a governor that believes in the development of football.

"This is made possible because the governor understands that the football is part of the large ecosystem in which a player can make a career and channel it into a productive youth not just for entertainment but also feeding their families," the CAF executive committee member further noted.

Pinnick was accompanied by members of the NFF team and an Ilorin-born football administrator who is a member of NFF/CAF Committee, Mr. A.U Mustapha(SAN). The NFF Boss presented the last batch of Nigeria's celebrated 2018 World Cup jersey to the Governor ahead of the presentation of the new Nike jersey next week.

Earlier, Gov. AbdulRazaq revealed that non-contact sporting activities have resumed in the state as part of the gradual easing of the Covid-19 restrictions. He added that his administration remains committed to reviving sporting infrastructure to create a conducive environment for talents.

He said: "We have since approved the reopening of non-contact sports as we gradually return to a new normal," he said.

He hinted that in line with federal government's lifting of the ban on athletics, table tennis, Badminton, Squash Racket, Golf, Cricket, Softball, and Baseball, among others, the state has complied.

The Governor commended Pinnick for his great works at the NFF and his long-standing contributions to the round leather game, adding: "We have seen transformation in football since you came in. We are glad that we are benefitting in Kwara and continue with the legacy being laid down especially with the football house."

The football house, the first and only one in Nigeria, was constructed by the Kwara State Football Association with the financial support of the AbdulRazaq administration and Barrister A.U Mustapha SAN.