Agency report

Lagos, Apr 3: Director of Sports in the National Sports Commission Amos Adamu has said Nigeria need not build new stadium for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which hosting right she has been awarded for the 2009 finals.

"We do not need to embark on the construction of new facilities. Hosting a major championship of the U-17 World Cup category can never be a problem for this country," Adamu said at a weekend press briefing.

"When we were at the FIFA meeting, I told them that we have hosted the bigger FIFA World Youth Championship successfully in 1999 and since then, we have hosted the African Cup of Nations in 2000 and the All-Africa Games in 2003. The facilities are readily available, " he said.

"I also made it clear that we have all the technology that it takes to present the championship to the world audience. Our television stations are capable of transmitting the matches. During the All-Africa Games, which involved 23 different sports, our stations gave adequate coverage and we sent signals round the world, " he said.

Adamu explained that the FIFA U-17 World Championship in two years' time will afford the country the opportunity to make use of the facilities that have been lying fallow since the 2003 All-Africa Games.

"So, I see no reason why we cannot give the same services for just one sport -football. After my explanation, it was then a unanimous decision by FIFA to hand the hosting right to Nigeria," said Adamu, who recently returned from the Fifa Executive Committee meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.