| Facilities
in Bauchi are world-class
…Deputy gov assures VP and FIFA
inspection teams
By PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi
Tuesday,
January 6, 2009
 |
•Goodluck
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
| |
Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Garba Mohammed Gadi, has expressed
satisfaction with the level of work going on in all the designated
facilities ahead of the FIFA visit for this year’s Under-17
World Cup.
The FIFA team are billed to tour Bauchi today (Tuesday) and
the deputy governor is confident that by the time the inspection
team arrive, they will find that things have actually changed
positively from the last time they visited.
Gadi, who went round to monitor the situation on ground, said
the contractor had actually put everything possible in place
in order to complete the work as scheduled.
"With what I have seen on ground, we are on course and
by the grace of God, we will beat the deadline and get FIFA’s
nod as one of the centres to host the Under-17 World Championship.
We’ve done it in the past and this time round, we will
do it again," he stated.
Gadi visited the Emergency Ward of the Bauchi Specialists
Hospital, Federal Polytechnic Playing Ground, the Games Village,
Zaranda Hotel, Awalah Hotel, the Medical Centre of the stadium,
as well as the main bowl of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Memorial
Stadium, which is currently undergoing complete upgrading.
Bauchi is one of the centres in the northern part of the country
bidding to host the world championship with Kaduna and Kano.
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to lead an inspection
team to Bauchi to assess all the facilities in the state,
preparatory to the final FIFA inspection of facilities for
the hosting of the Under-17 world soccer championship tagged
Nigeria ’09.
Chairman of the VP’s inspection visit to Bauchi, Maigari
Mohammed Khanna, said principal among the facilities the vice
president, who is the head of National Organising Committee
for the championship would inspect were the Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa Stadium, Zaranda and Awalah hotels. Others include
the Games Village, BACAS and the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi.
While Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium is expected to be one
of the venues for the championship, the two hotels are to
provide accommodation for players and officials. Spectators
are expected to be accommodated at the Games Village, while
BACAS and the Federal Polytechnic will serve as training grounds
for the players.
Zaranda Hotels, which is wholly owned by the state government,
is already being renovated, while the Games Village training
ground is also receiving attention, as carpet grass and other
necessary materials are being put in place.
All the facilities needed for hosting the event are expected
to be in place in a record time. |
