Governor Uba Sani has promised that Ahmadu Bello Stadium will be transformed to a FIFA-standard sports facility that will host international competitions.

He noted that the stadium was built in 1965 so it has to be completely remodeled to meet the needs of modern times.

Mr Sani disclosed that the stadium would be transformed to a 32,000-capacity when the remodelling is completed, which will double its current capacity.

The governor made this known when the National Institute for Sports, led by its Director General, Comrade Phillip Shuaibu, paid him a courtesy visit at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House on Tuesday.

Mr Sani pledged that the upgraded Ahmadu Bello Stadium would be the second most spacious after the national stadium in Abuja.

He described the DG of NIS as versatile, adding that before Mr Shuaibu came on board, the Institute was moribund but he had started turning it around.

Recalling that he and the DG were in the trenches together for the restoration of democracy in 1999, the governor said that Mr Shuaibu performed well as deputy governor of Edo state.

Speaking earlier, Mr Shuaibu said that the mandate of NIS is to develop manpower for the sports ecosystem, including the training of coaches and paramedics.

Mr Shuaibu recalled that he took steps to reposition the Institute when he assumed office, by constituting a 32-member star-studded team.

According to the NIS DG, the team came up with a 10-year work plan, conducted training and created six zonal offices for proper coordination.

He said that the North-West zonal office will be located in Kaduna while Yola and Jos will host the zonal offices of the North-East and North-Central geopolitical zones respectively.

According to him, the South-South zonal office will be located at Benin and the South-East as well as South-West offices will be at Enugu and Abeokuta respectively.

Mr Shuaibu thanked the governor for promising to provide a fully furnished office for the take off of the North-West zonal office.