Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, on Monday directed that the main football pitch of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja be closed to club sides.

Mohammed Manga, an official of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, said in a statement that the Minister directed that club sides could no longer use the pitch for domestic competitions.

Manga, who is the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, said the directive was with immediate effect.

“The pitch can be used only for matches involving the national teams,” he added.

The ministry official said the decision was made by the minister “in order to keep the stadium’s main pitch in good shape for use for international matches involving the national teams”.

The pitch is billed for usage on Thursday by the Super Eagles who will host the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone.

The match is one of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

But before now, some club sides in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), have been using the pitch for their home matches.

This however occurs only when they were moved to Abuja for punitive reasons by the League Management Company (LMC), as it is in the very recent case of Kano Pillars.