Odegbami Reveals How Manchester United Refused To Play In Lagos

Former Super Eagles of Nigeria player, Segun Odegbami, has revealed that Manchester United refused to play in Lagos because of the quality of the stadium.

In the past, Nigeria has hosted a couple of European clubs for pre-season friendlies. But that has not happened in recent years.

Manchester United ought to be the latest club to play a pre-season friendly in Nigeria, Lagos in particular, if the state’s Teslim Balogun Stadium was in good condition, according to Odegbami.

In an interview with Arise TV, the former Super Eagles captain said he had a meeting with Manchester United in an attempt to bring them to Lagos for a friendly.

He claimed that the Premier League giants showed interest in coming to the commercial city but didn’t because the pitch of the available venue wasn’t covered with natural turf.

Hence, he urged the handlers of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) to ensure that pitches of match venues across the country are upgraded to natural turf.

“I went to negotiate with Manchester United to come and play here when I was working with Globacom,” Odegbami said.

“Discussed everything, when they now asked where the game was going to be played, at Teslim Balogun Stadium, artificial turf, they would not come.

“We played against so many foreign teams in those days because it was grass. You need grass turfs and that’s partly why I went to AFCON.”