Vice Presidents at Portuguese giants Benfica Football Club, Manuel Debrito and Jose Gandarez have praised the laudable ideas of Nigeria’s Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, who is in Portugal alongside President Muhammadu Buhari, as part of deliberate efforts to continually develop sports in the country.
Dare received an official tour of Benfica’s facilities, which included the huge Estádio da Luz stadium, which seats 65,000 people.
After several brainstorming sessions, Sunday Dare and the Benfica Vice Presidents shared notes on football development for the country and also on club football structure.
In his remarks that followed, Vice President Manuel Debrito praised Dare’s initiative and ideas while hinting that his managerial skills will aid the development of Nigerian sports.
Debrito said, “Nigeria is blessed to have Dare as its Sports Minister. His ideas on sports administration is lofty and charming. He is in touch with modern trends in sports development and we appreciate him for honouring us with his presence.”
In recognition of the club’s warmth, Dare was also given the official jersey of the 37-time Portuguese champions.
“I want to appreciate this club that stands as a global sporting institution. Your 65,000 capacity stadium is one of the top football grounds in Europe and we are putting all hands on deck to achieve same and even more in Nigeria. Just as this club has a thriving youth system that has generated over 1 Billion Euros in the last decade, Nigeria is also unrelenting in grassroots sports development and we would borrow a leaf, where needed,” Dare said.
Along with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development of Nigeria travelled to Portugal earlier this week to sign a number of Memoranda of Understanding between the two countries regarding youth development and sports.