President of the Confederation of African Cycling (CAC), Mohammed Wagih Azzam has lauded Nigeria for finally putting the Velodrome Complex to use after 16 years of inactivity.
History would be made today, as the state-of-the-art cycling arena located inside the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, will, for the first time since its construction 16 years ago, play host to the maiden Africa Track Cycling Championship, aka African Cup.
Azzam said with the facility, track cycling had come to stay, as he urged Nigeria to take full advantage of the arena and join the global track cycling bug.
The Egyptian said Nigeria has the men and women, who can launch her on the global arena, noting that natural strength of the African will always come handy.
He also commended Giadomenico Massari, President of the Cycling Federation of Nigeria, CAC members, Dr Emmanuel Igbinosa and Coach Mohammed Bashiru for their contributions.
Meanwhile, the cycling arena came to life with the arrival of eight African countries for the maiden Africa Cup, which also serves as preparation for the forthcoming All Africa Games.
Egypt, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Ghana and Burundi had since joined host, Nigeria. Already the teams had been putting acts together, as they familiarise themselves with facilities in the Velodrome