By Goodness Ndukuba, Awka on June 16, 2025

The Awka Township Stadium, Anambra State is currently a shadow of itself with facilities deteriorating begging for rehabilitation as result of neglect since inception and vision failure.

The stadium pitch is also unfit for competitive play, as well as its stands empty and sad.

The stadium deserves urgent revitalization and seamless integration into the broader recreational development ecosystem.

Sports enthusiasts in Awka, the Anambra capital, have called on Gov. Chukwuma Soludo to deliver a complete stadium with facilities for all association games.

They said the Awka township stadium was the only sporting arena in the entire capital city and should be improved upon rather than some parts being converted to a tourism or leisure site

Nwangu, an ex-Rangers Int’l, said it was improper that after the stadium was inaugurated and approved for Nigeria Football Federation matches, floodlights, scoreboard media centre were yet to be installed.

“I want to thank the government of Anambra for the Awka township stadium which has become the epicentre of football activities in the state because it is hosting many national football competitions.

“It is important that all the standards are maintained so that it can host international competitions, these standards, include increasing sitting capacity from the current 1,000 to a minimum 5,000, we should have floodlights and conveniences,” he said.

Also speaking, Tony Nezianya, a veteran sports journalist, said overflow of the existing grandstand at Awka township stadium during matches was an indication that sports was becoming popular among residents.

Nezianya, the current Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), said Soludo should take advantage of the growing spirit of sports in Anambra to build a sports economy.

He said Anambra was a major player in the athletes supply chain in Nigeria and should not be confined to a stadium that served a mono-sports purpose.

“Floodlights are very critical now because most events take place at night when people are back from work and are ready to relax with live games, they are also very good for security purposes.

Nezianya described sports as a multi-million dollar business and money spinner which could lift athletes and their families from penury to affluence.

According to him, “we have to create opportunities for our youths, we have to nurture and export more athletes and the state has a lot to benefit from such investments.

In the same vein, the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Anambra chapter, while commending Soludo for resuming work at the Awka stadium, opposed the idea of converting it to an amusement and leisure park.

Patrick Anaso, the chairman of SWAN in the state, described the move as an attempt to render the teaming Anambra athletes and the entire sporting community homeless.

He said the stadium was for sports and there was much left to be done to make the Awka stadium a sports arena befitting a state that had rich tradition in sports like Anambra.

In a reaction, Christian Aburime, Press Secretary to Soludo, said the governor was not converting the stadium to a leisure park.

Aburime said only the vast undeveloped area within the stadium would be used for the recreational park which was meant to create tourism ambience in Awka.

The late Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, a former governor of the state, conceived and began the construction of the Awka Township Stadium, and envisioned a vibrant hub for sports, youth development, and community pride.

Awarded at a contract sum of about ₦2 billion, the project held promise for generations to come.

However, like many good intentions in Nigeria’s political landscape, it was left to rot in the pages of abandoned dreams.

Nearly two decades later, it took the determined intervention of another former governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to revive and reshape that vision.

In the twilight of his administration, Obiano committed resources to breathe life back into the project.

He advanced it to a commendable level while simultaneously handling monumental infrastructure efforts like the Anambra International Airport (now the Chinua Achebe Airport) and the glittering International Convention Centre in Awka.

Upon the stadium's completion, it proudly hosted matches of top-tier Nigerian Premier League teams such as Enugu Rangers International and Heartland FC of Imo State.

It was, finally, a beacon of sporting pride for Ndi Anambra.

Yet today, the Awka Township Stadium stands like a ghost of its former promise.

Rather than building on this achievement, the current administration under Governor Chukwuma Soludo has turned a blind eye to the stadium’s potential.

When the governor initiated the “Solution Fun City” project just beside the stadium, many had hoped this would birth a grand recreational complex that integrates sports and leisure—a games village that unites youth culture, family fun, and athleticism in a single ecosystem.

Alas, what followed was the opposite.

The Solution Fun City grew in splendour, colour, and excitement, while the stadium next door was literally walled off—excluded from the dream.

The tall fences do more than physically separate the stadium from its neighbour; they symbolize neglect, abandonment, and poor planning.

Today, the stadium is a shadow of itself—its facilities deteriorating, its pitch unfit for competitive play, and its stands empty and sad. No one needs to be told it has been forsaken.

This is not just a tale of neglect; it is a failure of vision.

As it stands, the juxtaposition of the loved Solution Fun City and the crumbling Awka Stadium is a sad metaphor for misplaced priorities.

Fun without sports is like laughter in a tragedy—it can never truly be fun.

Source Daily Sports Nigeria

Posted June 16, 2025

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