Adepoju lauds Atletico Madrid, Super Eagles friendly

Nigeria’s ex-international, Mutiu Adepoju, on Friday lauded MultiChoice Nig. Ltd., owners of GOtv satellite network provider for organising a friendly match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Atletico Madrid of Spain.

The historic match tagged `Go Max Cup 2018’ will take place on May 22 at the God’swill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.

Atletico Madrid is one of the best European sides form the La Liga football league in Spain.

The friendly match is being organised by members of the MultiChoice Company, the delegation of the La Liga outfit and members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Adeopoju who spoke to NAN in Lagos on the sidelines of the event said: “I am happy about the development.

“It is indeed happening at a time when Nigeria needed it the most to develop our football and portray the nation in a very good light.

“Having played in the La Liga as well, I think it is a great opportunity for the nation to have a good connection with the kind of development in Spanish football.”

Also, Amaju Pinnick, the Nigeria Football Federation President, extolled the leadership of MultiChoice for another opportunity to support the development of football in Nigeria.

He said that the partnership which was struck back in 2016 had continued to yield pleasant results and that it would be a historic moment for Nigeria’s football.

Javier Del Rio, the La Liga delegate told NAN that the synergy between Nigeria’s football and the Spanish league was for the development of football at the grassroots.

He said that since the coming together of the two countries, great development had been achieved, adding that having Atletico Madrid to play in Nigeria was one of them.

“Atletico Madrid is one of La Liga’s greatest clubs, and coming to Nigeria is aimed at giving fans the chance to enjoy watching their stars close.

“Africa and Nigeria, in particular, are very important for us and we know you have a lot of love for Spanish football, something we are proud of.

“We are interested in partnering with any developmental projects in Nigeria because we believe in the success globally,’’ Del Rio said.

Martin Mabutho, the General Manager Sales, and Marketing MultiChoice Nigeria, said that he was delighted to bring one of the three biggest clubs from La Liga to Nigeria.

“As you all know Atlético Madrid is one of the top clubs in LaLiga and our customers and indeed, football fans in Nigeria will have the rare opportunity of watching the stars play the Super Eagles right here on Nigerian soil.

“We at MultiChoice are undoubtedly the continent’s leader in the coverage of sports and we have repeatedly shown this not only by the exclusive content we broadcast but also by the way we support sports in Nigeria.

“We have done well in putting the country on the global sports map through exciting initiatives like the GOtv MAX Cup and backing the friendly match between Nigeria and Atletico Madrid is just one way we intend to do our job.

“With the FIFA 2018 World Cup around the corner, the friendly match would go a long way in helping the coach assess the readiness of his team,’’ Mabutho said.