Nigeria should bid for the World Cup hosting rights - Fashola

Nigeria’s minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola has urged Nigeria to bid to host the FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria has hosted some important international football competitions in the past like the Under-17 World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.

However, since the 2009 Under-17 FIFA World Cup, the country has not hosted a top football tournament.

Nigeria’s minister of Works and Housing Fashola feels the country should strive to host more competitions. The former Governor believes that it would boost the country’s economy and infrastructure.

“That is the stage where National anthems are rendered with National flags and colours displayed to the pride and admiration of patriots and perhaps the envy of competitors,” Fashola told Thisday.

“A bid to host the world cup by Nigeria alone or along with other West African nations must be led by Nigeria.

“The challenges of launching a successful bid are enormous enough but they are nothing compared to the actual hosting.

“I vote for Nigeria to venture and to lead the bid for a major global sporting event. “The examples are legion, and for those who are in Qatar, a tiny nation has not only opened herself to the world, and she is projecting herself on a global stage.

“The benefits of the 2022 World Cup are now hers to harvest or throw away.

“I am able to also report that in the current national development plans, sports is now one of the economic drivers rather than just recreation and a hobby.

“With the policy now in place, the economic benefits must begin to converge.

The only African country that has hosted the World Cup is South Africa, and they gave a good account of themselves.

However, in Nigeria, there are very few stadiums that meet up to FIFA’s standards. Asides from the stadium, infrastructure in most parts of the country are not in good shape and the transport system still has to undergo a lot of work.

According to Bloomberg, Qatar invested $300billion on infrastructure since 2010 when they got the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup.

With the current economic crisis in the country, it would be difficult for Nigeria to churn out that kind of money any time soon.