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KWARA STADIUM MAY BE NAMED AFTER RASHIDI YEKINI

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Steps are underway to rename the Kwara State Stadium in Ilorin after Rashidi Yekini.

This came to light when the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq paid a visit to the sports minister, Sunday Dare in his office.

According to a press release by the media office of the minister, the governor announced that a bill will be sent to the state house of assembly to immortalize Rashidi Yekini with the name changing of the stadium.

Yekini hailed from Ira Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The press release further stated that the minister reminded the governor of the series of letters that had been written to the Kwara State Government to immortalize Yekini with the naming of the stadium after the late football legend.

The governor also remarked that he was a passionate football follower and was at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas when the Super Eagles played their first World Cup match against Bulgaria in 1994.

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He had fond memories of the match and the entire squad and promised to host the players.

Perhaps the best impression he had was the second goal that Daniel Amokachi scored for Nigeria in a match that the Super Eagles won 3-0.

“It was quite memorable for me as an ardent lover of the game of football. After that goal, I fell in love with jersey “number 14” which Daniel

Amokachi aka “The Bull” wore. 

“After the tournament, I knew it will be difficult to produce those set of great and committed footballers.”

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The Governor said he was looking forward to hosting the USA ‘94

Squad in Ilorin, to relive the memory of late Yekini.

The Special Assistant on Sports to the President, Daniel Amokachi said he was excited that the governor had deemed it fit to rename the Kwara State Stadium after his late team mate, even as he was looking forward to the governor hosting the team.

The US ‘94 squad was ranked the fifth best team in the world by FIFA  team following their impressive performance which saw them beat Greece and Bulgaria before losing to Italy.

In his response, the sports minister urged the Governor to sustain his support for sports development, noting that sports helps in reducing social vices.

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“I want to thank His Excellency for hosting our biggest youth games in Ilorin. Your Excellency we are coming to Ilorin again because of the facilities at the University of Ilorin.

“I love the fact that His Excellency loves sports. I encourage you to invest more in sports”

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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