Edo to set up sports arena in 18 LGAs

In a bid to reposition sports in Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki yesterday said that each of the 18 Local Government Areas of the state would have a sporting arena, adding that facilities at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium would be repositioned to meet international standards and host international events.

He stated this when he received executive members of the amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, Edo State Council, led by its Chairman, Comrade Julius Erharuyi at the Edo State Government House in Benin City.

Obaseki said Ogbemudia Stadium would be refurbished this year. “We will improve on what we have as a state and ensure we revive sports to enhance its development in the state and country at large.

“Every local government area must have a sporting arena. We do not need to buy a land but can look for a school that has vast land and redesign the pitch, put a racetrack, and, as money comes, upgrade it to meet international standards.”

Obaseki said a bill had been drafted as part of the recommendation from the sports workshop held in the state, adding that his administration would set up a sports commission that would create avenues for only those experts in sports to contribute to the development of sports in the state.”

Meanwhile, Erharuyi appreciated the governor’s policies for developing the state, repositioning sports, as well as the financial commitment to Bendel Insurance Football Club of Benin and sports in general.

“We request that an institution to academically improve our sportsmen and women be created in the state and the need to provide more medical facilities, personnel, and drugs for the stadium cannot be underestimated,” he noted.