A review on Godswill Akpabio international Stadium

When talking about the best stadiums in Africa, you need to include the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium; this is a modern stadium in the country of Nigeria that has hosted a lot of matches. It is known for its standard and beauty, walk with me as I will bring the stadium to your screen.

The Nigeria Delta states in my country organized a sports competition hosted in my state; the sports included football games, Relay races, hurdles, long jump, high jump, discus throw, swimming, long tennis, table tennis, and many other sports. The participants were hosted in the state as accommodation and feeding were settled by the organizers. From the gate, I was able to take a lot of pictures of the stadium. I would love to share more details about the stadium.

Brief History

If you are a football fan, you can easily notice that the stadium looks similar to a big club stadium; yes, it is the Allianz arena, which is a home stadium to Bayern Munich Football Club. As of 2011-2012, news came to us that we would be having a nice stadium in the state. We were happy to know that such standards would be coming.

One of the best construction companies, Julius Berger was in charge of the construction, as the construction started in 2012 and was fully completed in the year 2014, that is 2 years of construction. The stadium was initially named after the state as "Akwa Ibom State International Stadium" when it was officially opened on 7th November 2014. It was renamed after the Governor on the seat in May 2015, which is now known as the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

A notable event in the stadium was the CAF Confederation Final, which was played in the stadium on 20th May 2022. The match was between Orlando Pirates and RS Berkane, which was decided by a penalty and won by RS Berkane.

Management and ownership

Since it is a state Stadium, it is still owned by the state regardless of the name given to the stadium. The stadium is fully owned by Akwa Ibom state Government, and it is managed by the company Julius Berger. They're in charge of any work done in the stadium; they had a 10-year contract, which can be renewable. Their work experience has made them so perfect in terms of stadium management.

Aside from having a township stadium, the stadium is fully international and can host any international game. Their operational philosophy is focused on having a standard international that approves them to host international games.

Exterior and Entrance

Since it was modeled after the Allianz arena, the exterior of the stadium is fully covered with acrylic glass triangular panels, which are white tinted; the plates look so clean with nice shapes carefully made to show its beauty. Talking about cleanliness, the whole stadium, and its environs are kept clean.

The stadium is accessible through good road networks, a four-lane drive, an overhead bridge, and good two-way lanes; all these make it easy for large numbers of vehicles to access the location.

The stadium has enough parking space which can house thousands of cars with good exits. Here is a picture of a direction board that shows directions and signs to keep you updated on where you are; you can't get lost because there are similar direction boards in each wing of the stadium. It has a red Alarm feature on top of the other board, which shows your current location; from there, you can find your way to any gate into the stadium. The current location was the Ticket Booth I added on the OpenStreetMap. The stadium has a helipad and lots of parking lots for many kinds of vehicles.

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Outdoor Areas

_{Ticket Booth link in Openstreetmap}

The stadium has many outdoor areas, one of which is the Ticket Booth, which I have added to the Openstreetmap. It has another Training football field, which is mainly used for training activities and a few charity matches. In one of the trainings by the Super Eagles, there was VAR, which showed replay on the screen of the coaches outside. It is a very standard pitch.

Interior

The interior of the stadium is very comfortable with very good lighting in a stadium which is done with modern Floodlights, good for a night football match. A very good grass pitch that is highly maintained. The seats are colored green, orange, and white, which signifies the color of the state flag. The stadium capacity is 30,000, and the crowd level is very organized as it is not overfilled.

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Supporting Facilities

The stadium has a lot of supporting facilities like the ambulance bay for emergency situations, a helipad, a VIP section, dressing rooms for both teams, media facilities, and so on, which support the games. Also had standard restrooms and a good water supply which are working currently

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The stadium has up to 30 exits in case of any emergency, and talking about safety, they're modern CCTV installed in the stadium and a metal detector during entry into the stadium. All these facilities are in a good state and very clean. The cleanliness in the state is top-notch.

Programs and Services

The stadium is a nest for the Super Eagles, a home stadium for the team in case of any home games from friendlies to any tournament or competition. The state team, Akwa United also play games in the NPFL using the stadium as their home stadium.

As the NDDC sports were held in the stadium, I sat as I enjoyed many sports, the relay races, the hurdles, the high jump, the long jump, and the discus throw.

The tournament was so interesting that I had to take a couple of photos and videos of the ongoing tournament. The teams were cheering their team mates which gave them a high spirit.

The stadium is also used to host other programs and events in the state, but the pitch is not easily tampered with.

Special Features

• Clean football pitch
• Modern Floodlights
• Helipad
• Media Facilities
• Sports Track
• Training Facilities
• Training pitch
• VIP sections.

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_{Taking a picture in the stadium}

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Steem Atlas location
//:# (!steematlas 5.0061875 lat 7.8849375 long Godswill Akpabio International Stadium d3scr)

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Place Name	Godswill Akpabio International Stadium
Google Maps link	https://maps.app.goo.gl/QqPCpuFroAogmBtbA
Atlas Pin Code	//]:# (!steematlas 5.0061875 lat 7.8849375 long Godswill Akpabio International Stadium d3scr)
Opening & closing	During match hours
Environment	Clean and friendly
Capacity of Stadium	30,000
Device	Redmi12C

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_{I would love to call out my friends @davidmarkgeorge, @samuelbrilliant, @etoro, @kwinberry, @nsijoro, @bossj23, @ngoenyi, @okere-blessing. How would you rate this place after the review?}