At New Maracana Stadium, Ndidi preaches grassroots devt

Super Eagles midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, has joined the campaign for grassroots football development, saying investing in children is the easiest way to build a virile sports culture.

Speaking at the New Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle, where he unveiled a new hostel for the facility, Ndidi said Nigeria has abundant talents waiting to be discovered, adding that providing facilities and the enabling environment will make it easier for the budding talents to become great athletes.

He described the New Maracana Stadium as an amazing facility, which was not available to children of his generation.

“When we were younger, we didn’t have facilities like this. So, when Mr Yemi Idowu told me about the facility, I was very happy, and I tried to contribute by donating a hostel to it.

“This facility will go a long way in motivating the kids to train harder knowing that they have something to look up to. If other kids have this type of facility, it will help their development.

“We underrate grassroots football development, but it is the way to go. You can imagine what these children will turn out to be after training in this facility. Not many children have the same opportunity.”

Also speaking on the facility, Yemi Idowu, whose foundation rebuilt the stadium, said the idea was to provide an outlet for the budding talents to hone their skills.

He commended Ndidi for his contribution to the facility, saying that the Super Eagles star has provided a big boost for the development of futuregenerations of players.

He said: “Many of the stars look for outlets that they can participate and give back to the society. When Ndidi sees the impact of his contribution to this facility, it makes him happy.

“It was also a phenomenal impact on the kids seeing a Premiership player coming to take photographs with them, sit with them, and play with them. It is a dream builder, which not many children canexperience.”

Idowu said he was motivated to build the New Maracana Stadium because of the knowledge he has acquired from visiting such facilities overseas.

He said the hostels are used by the children when they have programmes that would last for two to three days, adding, “We feed them from beginning to end. Apart from playing football, they also play educational games, watch films, and do several other things when they are in the hostel.”