The most awaited game in Nigeria which was to take place on August 5 in Abuja has been canceled. The English club
said they have taken the decision “as a result of complexities linked to
the planned game against Nigeria on Saturday, August 5 in Abuja.”
Whatever that means should obviously ball down to the security challeges in Nigeria especially in the northern parts of the country and Abuja. The Federal Capital
Territory recorded another bomb blast barely three days before the club
changed their plans.
Even though the state of Abuja National
Stadium had come up in the series of talks for the visit, the state of
security in Nigeria was a challenge at the onset as it topped the list
of conditions for the visit. It was for that reason that they initially
chose to play only in Lagos and a few southern cities with Calabar on
top of the list.
The tour was later practically cut down to only a match
in Abuja to manage their visit more manageable but since that decision
Kano, Yobe, Borno, Kaduna and Bauchi states have witnessed heavy
bombings.
Arsenal marketing director Angus Kinnear
said, “Bringing a top-level club to an international market is always
complicated and logistically challenging. With the proposed match in
Nigeria planned for early August, we could not get comfortable on
everything needed to satisfy our requirements, so we have reluctantly
taken the decision to postpone the team’s visit. (If you ask me that is really a polite excuse)
He apologizes to the huge fans in Nigeria and politely says the team won't“ be visiting this summer but we should expect them next summer since they have a long-term commitment to Nigeria.
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