Amidst raging controversy on the maintenance of the grass of the pitch of the Main-Bowl of the Kwara State Stadium Complex, Ilorin, the State Football Association has officially declared the withdrawal of the services henceforth.
Speaking with newsmen after Kwara United defeated Kano Pillars 2-0 on Wednesday June 12, 2024, in the Matchday 36 of the ongoing 2023\2024 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), the Chairman of the FA, Alhaji Idris Abdullahi Musa, popularly known as Thuraya said the decision became necessary, to forestall further clash of interest.
“This is not a threat. I think we would need to withdraw because a lot of questions would need to be asked about the processes of doing so. We cannot continue to make the facility conducive for use while some people are collecting revenue on it, and not remitting part of it to support the maintenance processes.
“We decided to initiate the construction of the grass pitch and also maintain it not for our own personal gains, but for the growth of sports and other related businesses in the state. We also did that to encourage the hosting of national and international matches, as FIFA and CAF are moving from synthetic grasses to natural grasses.
While making further clarifications, Thuraya said that even though the facility belongs to the government, with Kwara State Sports Commission as the caretakers, the issue of maintenance became that of the FA because of the process of having the grass converted from artificial to natural grass two seasons ago, with Barrister A, U. Mustapha agreeing to support the conversion to complement government’s efforts, which was successfully executed.
He added that Kwara FA midwifed that conversion process, and had since undertaken the maintenance, with Kwara United fully funding the maintenance, just to ensure they play their NPFL matches at home.
“Maintenance of the grass should be the responsibility of the Commission, especially when it’s a commercial facility. But they have never maintained it ever since the planting of the natural grass.
“It’s Kwara United, especially the Chairman, Kumbi Titiloye that has been spending heavily to maintain the grass, for the team to have the opportunity of playing in front of their fans. And even at that, they still pay the Commission the normal charges for the usage of the facility on match days.
While reacting to the claims by the Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission, Mallam Bola Magaji that the sum of N3 million was remitted to the Football Association’s account, out of which N1 million was allocated to the Kwara State Sports Commission, Thuraya said that no such money was paid into FA’s account.
“Where did the M3million come from? The only money we collected was N1million, one hundred thousand naira each from the 10 Nationwide League clubs, and which we paid into the Commission account.
“The Commission complained about the delay in us paying them N1million. All the clubs didn’t pay at once. Some paid early, while some paid even 10 to 11 days later, and we waited until all payments were made before we remitted the same into the Commission’s account.
“From where is the N3million coming from, and for what exactly? He has no idea of what kind of money comes and goes out of our account. And it’s clear that our account has records. We can prove anybody wrong by making the account statements available.
“They are directing people to pay into personal accounts, of which we are taking proper records. We have enough evidence of payment of monies into private accounts, not even the Commission’s account or that of KWIRS. The only money we paid into Commission’s account was the N1million we paid.
