Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has opened up on the reasons behind the official renaming of the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta to MKO Abiola Sporting Complex ahead of the 22nd National Sports Festival in the state.
Abiodun stated the reasons for renaming the stadium, noting the substantial transformation from a stadium to into a full-fledged sports complex with upgrades across the edifice.
He said: “It is no longer just a pitch and a track. It now has a brand new world-class pitch, a new international-standard track, modern scoreboards, digital floodlights, Olympic-size swimming pool, a warm-up pool, tennis courts, basketball and handball courts. All these developments rightly make it a sporting complex.
“We are going to do the official renaming of that stadium from MKO Abiola Stadium to MKO Abiola Sporting Complex, and I think that is justifiable.”
The Governor also credited the public and private sector partnerships for their financial support for the festival.
He said: “We’ve received massive backing from our industrial base.
“There are major sponsors, silver sponsors and others. The support is ongoing. This is not a burden the government is carrying alone.”
Ogun State won a total of 70 medals at the 2022 National Sports Festival, Abiodun is aiming for more gold medals from the state’s athletes.
He concluded: “Our joy is in hosting for all the right reasons. But of course, we are aiming to win more gold medals than any other state.”
The 22nd edition of the festival, tagged Gateway 2024, is set to be held in Ogun State between May 16 and 31.
