‘26 Stadia, Only One Meets FIFA, CAF Standards’ — Obi Demands Radical Rethink of Nigeria’s Stadium Crisis

Former AIPS Africa president Mitchell Obi says Nigeria must overhaul its approach to sports infrastructure, arguing that the country has built stadiums as monuments rather than as engines of a sustainable sports economy.

Nigeria’s sports infrastructure crisis has come under renewed scrutiny, with veteran broadcaster and journalist Mitchell Obi questioning how a country with about 26 stadiums currently has only one facility capable of hosting international football to FIFA and CAF standards.

Obi, a former president of AIPS Africa, said the problem goes beyond deteriorating facilities, describing it as the consequence of decades of poor planning, weak management and an outdated philosophy that treats stadiums primarily as construction projects rather than economic assets.

His central argument is blunt: Nigeria has built stadiums, but failed to build a sports economy around them.

According to Obi, the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo is currently the only Nigerian venue that meets the requirements for hosting international football under the standards of FIFA and CAF.

For a country of more than 200 million people, he believes the situation should trigger a fundamental rethink of how Nigeria plans, manages and finances its sporting infrastructure.

“If Lionel Messi were to play in Nigeria tomorrow, there is only one venue in the entire country where the match could be sanctioned,” Obi observed.

The point, he argued, is not that Nigeria lacks stadiums. Rather, it lacks enough functional, commercially viable and internationally compliant stadiums.

Nigeria has invested billions of naira in sports infrastructure over several decades, including the 60,500-capacity Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, the 45,000-capacity National Stadium in Lagos and the 25,000-capacity Liberty Stadium in Ibadan.

Once symbols of Nigeria’s sporting ambition, several of these facilities have struggled with maintenance, commercial utilisation and regular activity.

Nigeria’s Stadium Business Model Is Broken

Obi’s criticism extends beyond the physical condition of the facilities. He questioned the economic rationale of maintaining stadiums that remain largely inactive for much of the year while public funds continue to be required for their upkeep.

He pointed to facilities that host only a handful of events annually, leaving them commercially dormant for extended periods.

He also questioned the low rental value attached to some stadiums.

A stadium capable of accommodating tens of thousands of spectators being rented for between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000, he argued, does not represent a sustainable commercial model.

“That is not revenue. That is embarrassment,” Obi declared.

At the heart of his argument is the belief that Nigeria’s stadium problem is fundamentally an economic and management problem, not merely an infrastructure problem.

“We built stadiums as monuments. We should have built them as economies,” he said.

For decades, governments have largely approached stadium development as construction projects: build a facility, host major events, stage ceremonies and await the next significant sporting occasion.

Obi believes that model has failed to produce sustainable value.

Instead, he advocates turning major stadiums into the anchors of integrated sports, entertainment and commercial districts where football is only one component of a broader economic ecosystem.

Hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, conference centres, gyms, cinemas, sports academies, sports-science facilities, offices, residential developments and transport infrastructure could be developed around major stadiums.

The objective would be to ensure that the facilities remain economically active throughout the year rather than depending almost exclusively on match days.

Abuja Stadium Could Become a Test Case

Obi believes the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja could provide Nigeria with an opportunity to test the model.

Rather than continuing to treat the facility as a standalone stadium requiring periodic government intervention, he proposed developing the surrounding area as a major sports and entertainment district.

Under such a model, the stadium could be rehabilitated to meet international standards, while hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, conference and exhibition facilities, academies and sports-science centres are developed around it.

The result would be a destination where people can work, eat, shop, train, stay and attend sporting and entertainment events throughout the year.

That, Obi argues, is the difference between simply owning a stadium and developing a sports economy.

He pointed to developments around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London and Hollywood Park in Los Angeles as examples of how major sporting venues can serve as anchors for wider commercial and urban development.

He also referenced the Zamalek model in Cairo, where sporting, membership and commercial activities contribute to a broader ecosystem around the club.

For Nigeria, the implication is that stadiums should no longer be viewed simply as places where football is played.

They can also become centres for investment, employment, tourism, entertainment, business and community activity.

Sports Economy Ambition Faces Infrastructure Test

The argument comes as the Federal Government continues to promote the development of a Nigerian sports economy, with the National Sports Commission under Chairman Shehu Dikko tasked with advancing the sector’s commercial potential.

Obi’s warning, however, is that such an ambition will require more than the construction or rehabilitation of standalone stadiums.

A sports economy, he argues, cannot be sustained by facilities that remain empty for much of the year.

The issue also has implications for Nigeria’s long-term ambitions to host major international sporting events.

Obi recalled that Nigeria’s 2020 sports master plan projected that the country could be ready to host the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games by 2030.

With 2030 approaching, he questioned whether the country has made sufficient progress towards that objective.

“Not because we lack ambition. Because we built the wrong things,” he said.

His position raises a series of questions for governments at both federal and state levels.

How many stadiums currently under construction or renovation will meet international standards?

How many will generate sufficient revenue to support their own maintenance?

How many will remain functional five or ten years after commissioning?

And how many risk becoming underutilised facilities once the political administrations that commissioned them have left office?

From Stadium Ownership to Sports Investment

Obi argues that Nigeria already possesses many of the basic ingredients required for a more commercially driven sports infrastructure model: land, existing stadiums, strategic urban locations and a large population with a strong appetite for sports and entertainment.

What he believes has been missing is a commercially intelligent strategy for turning those assets into sustainable economic centres.

He also pointed to the African Collaborations Group (ACG), which emerged from the FIFA Task Force for Infrastructure Development in Africa established during the tenure of former FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, as part of the expertise that could contribute to a new approach to sports infrastructure development.

The choice, in Obi’s view, is increasingly clear: Nigeria can continue committing public resources to stadiums that remain inactive for much of the year, or pursue a model in which major sporting facilities become commercially driven districts capable of generating economic activity every day.

Nigeria does not simply need more stadiums.

It needs sports infrastructure capable of attracting investment, creating jobs, supporting businesses, driving tourism and expanding opportunities for athletes and communities.

The challenge, therefore, is no longer simply how many stadiums Nigeria owns.

It is whether those stadiums can function as sustainable economic assets.

For Obi, the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja could provide the first major test of whether Nigeria is prepared to move away from the traditional model.

The broader proposition is straightforward: stadiums should no longer be built merely as monuments to sporting ambition. They should be designed and managed as engines of a sustainable sports economy.