*** Contractors ‘ll meet deadline, says FIFA Projects Coordinator
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, ABUJA BUREAU
Nine months after the groundbreaking ceremony of an ambitious NFF-FIFA Players’ Hostel and Two New Training Pitches situated at the Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, the project is expected to be delivered before the deadline for the use of the Super Eagles, Super Falcons and nine other national football teams, Prompt News reports.
A visit to the construction sites of the project currently being executed by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) near the FIFA Goal Project beside the federation’s Sunday Dankaro House secretariat in Abuja, revealed that serious work is going on at the two-story players’ hostel, which will have several offices and conference facilities on the ground floor, while the first and second floors will house the rooms for the players and officials.
Funded through the FIFA Forward 3.0 Funds, with the pace the contractors are going with the job, the project will be completed before the stipulated 24 months delivery date signed between the major contractor Jedo Investment Company Limited and the federation.
The 68-room Players’ Hostel main building is at the second floor deck level as many construction workers are busy at the site while work has reached an advanced stage at the site of the two new training pitches handled by ARON Nigeria Limited situated adjacent to the FIFA Goal Project Hostel, Abuja.
Also, work is seriously going on in the two new training pitches adjacent to the Players-Hostel building as heaps of gravel are seen being offloaded by heavy-duty
trucks during the tour of the facilities.
According to a site supervisor who pleaded to remain anonymous, the two training pitches are awaiting laying of both natural turf and a synthetic turf, respectively, by the contractor.
But commenting on the project, Mr. Rajan Zaka, Coordinator, FIFA Projects and NFF Acting Director, Accounts, who is overseeing the ongoing legacy project initiated by the incumbent NFF Executive Committee led by President Ibrahim Musa Gusau assured that with the pace the contractors are going with the job, the project will be completed before the 24 months delivery date they agreed with the federation.
Said he: “I feel proud to say that the contractors handling the project will meet the 24-month period the work is meant to be delivered because of the speed with which the project is being executed.
“I want to believe that the contractors know the timeline and are keeping to it. It is good for the NFF, and it is also good for them.”
Zaka also assured that both the contractors and the NFF are on the same page on the completion date and will continue to work together to achieve every milestone, pointing out that early completion of the project will be of great benefits of all stakeholders.
He also revealed that NFF has kept FIFA abreast of the progress of work, pointing out that a FIFA-appointed Architect/ Consultant has been on ground in Abuja monitoring the project and filing his reports to FIFA.
Recall FIFA appointed Arch Gambo Ahmadu, the Lead Architect/Consultant for the project which will deliver a 68-room, two-wing facility (62 single rooms, four suites, and two executive suites) designed for national team players, coaches, and officials as well as building a new natural and synthetic turf pitches within the vicinity of the hostel.
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Meanwhile, President of NFF Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, during an inspection of the project site last year in Abuja, praised the contractors working on the project for the pace and quality of work going on at the site few months after the groundbreaking ceremony was done on March 18, 2025.
After the inspection, Gusau expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the site and expressed confidence that the contractors will be able to deliver on the 24-month mandate given for the completion of the work.
Said he: “I am happy with the pace of the work, the seriousness shown so far by the contractors, and the quality of the work as seen so far. They have a 24-month mandate to deliver, and at the pace they are going, they should be able to complete the players’ hostel and the training pitches on or before that timeline.
“I am also impressed with the quality of work. For the present NFF administration, it is a legacy project, and it is very close to our hearts,” Gusau told journalists after the site inspection.
