The Lafia City Stadium will undergo a major upgrade ahead of the 2025/26 league season, according to Nasarawa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Kwanta Yakubu.
The stadium is the home ground of state-owned Premier football teams, Nasarawa United and Nasarawa Amazons.
Yakubu led a handful of Government delegation and a team of experts to inspect the Lafia City Stadium on Monday.
The inspection exercise was in compliance with the Nigeria Premier Football League , NPFL, directive for clubs participating in the 2025/26 season to upgrade their stadium facilities.
The NPFL Board’s letter focused on clubs installation of approved and functional standard LED Floodlights for night matches, provision of back-up generator to provide alternative source of power supply, installation of approved playing turf, provision of perimeter fencing to enhance safety and security, provision of safe entry and exit routes in the event of emergencies, and provision of comfortable changing rooms for players and match officials.
Yakubu said the government would ensure the installation and provision of the aforementioned facilities according to the league’s standards before the commencement of the new football league season.
“We are here to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the Lafia City Stadium facilities as we prepare for the next league campaign which we have been told would commence by August 22nd, 2025,” he told reporters.
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“We have identified the areas that require immediate improvement, and I will immediately brief the Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, on this and the next step to take.
“As you know, the Governor is so passionate about sports, particularly football, and it won’t be in our best interest for our darling teams to play their home matches outside of Lafia.
“We struggled and spent a lot of resources playing our home matches away from home which negatively affected us in the past.
“We won’t be complacent anymore. We have to act fast and put this place in the best condition before the league’s inspection team will come visiting.
“We are here with some experts. They have assessed the condition of the stadium, and in the next couple of days or weeks, we should be installing the right floodlights for night matches, replace the playing turf, as some parts are already peeling off, refurbish the changing rooms, install athletic tartan tracks, as well as install digital scoreboard, and other key areas that need urgent renovations, to give the stadium a facelift.
“Also recall that the State will be hosting the annual Gusau/Ahlan Cup Preseason Football Tournament on this turf, which precedes the commencement of the regular football season. As a responsible Government, we will ensure we meet the timelines for all these competitions”, Yakubu assured.
He added that the State Government will work with relevant stakeholders to implement the necessary upgrades, ensuring the stadium is ready for the new football league campaign in Nigeria to enhance the overall football experience for players, officials and spectators alike.
