Former Governor of Lagos State and immediate past Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called for a shift in the remodelling of Nigerian stadiums to become a hub for sports and entertainment.

Fashola spoke as a guest speaker during the book presentation of veteran sports journalist Mumini Alao’s Autobiography at the Tayo Aderinokun Hall, University of Lagos, on Sunday.

In his address titled “Re-thinking the current football business model in Nigeria as a catalyst for sports development”, Fashola addressed the infrastructural challenge of Nigerian sports, noting that the remodelling can also attract people to the stadiums.

Currently, Nigeria has two CAF-accredited stadiums: the 60,000-capacity Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja and the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, among the many facilities scattered across the country.

The former Lagos State Governor made the call for a shift, as well as safety concerns.

“The first thing to say is that modern arenas – with multi-purpose functions, will attract people, increased media coverage, safe parking, reliable transport services into and out of the venue, and the safety of the patrons and their families – will assure them,” Fashola said.

“Whilst still on infrastructure, we must recognise the need to modify the medium-term existing facilities and build new ones as multi-purpose centres for sports, concerts, meetings, retail outlets, spas, and kids’ play pens. This is what will bring families, not just individuals.

“Also, the era of large capacity stadia and those located in the outskirts of towns is dying. FIFA is favouring community-based stadia like the Agege Stadium with local ownership, and they range from over 5,000 to 20,000 capacities.

“Fourth, if we are to bring people to these arenas, they must feel safe not only to come but to bring their families and therefore, safety and security is non-negotiable.”

Aside from being a former governor and ex-minister, Fashola has been a respected figure for his contributions to sports development in Nigeria.

Recently, the International Table Tennis Federation Africa named the maiden edition of the ITTF Africa Youth Cup after him.

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The new Assistant Coach of Shooting Stars Sports Club, Ibadan, Oyo State, Akin Olowokere, on Monday morning, slumped and died.

He was one of the recently appointed coaches 3SC.

As of press time, there were no official reports on what led to his death.

However, eyewitnesses in the state capital said that “he slumped on the pitch during the team’s Monday morning training session and was rushed to the hospital.

“He was, however, confirmed dead at the hospital where he was rushed to.”

It was further gathered that the former Sunshine Stars of Akure player and later tactician went down while in action, attracting medical attention immediately, after which he was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

He was recently unveiled as one of the coaches of the Oluyole Warriors after the club parted ways with the Gbenga Ogunbote-led coaching crew.

The soft-spoken gaffer was for years a regular player with his state club, Sunshine Stars of Akure, before taking up a coaching job.

He recently served as an assistant coach with the club, under head coach Edith Agoye.

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Galatasaray head coach, Okan Buruk has revealed the reason behind his decision to omit Victor Osimhen from his side’s clash with Gaziantep.

Osimhen was a surprise omission from the Turkish Super Lig champions opening league game of the campaign against Gaziantep.

The forward’s absence was not felt as the Yellow and Reds comfortably won the game 3-0.

The Nigeria international spent last season on loan at the club.

Osimhen only joined Galatasaray on a permanent transfer two weeks ago.

Osimhen had a five- or six-day training period. “Playing here during that period could have been risky for him,” Buruk told CNN Turk.

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