Nigerian pitch manufacturing and turf laying expert, Chief Ebi Ezekiel Egbe has raised concern over the poor state of the football field where the Super Eagles will play Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday.
Sports247 reports that Egbe’s concern soared after worrying images emerged on social media indicating what appeared to be a water logged surface at 24 September Stadium, where Tuesday’s game will take place in Bissau.
It promises to be a feisty MatchDay 2 fixture in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, as the hosts, Guinea-Bissau set top of the table only on goals difference ahead of the Nigerians, but Egbe warned that they may have a rare advantage on the poor surface.
He admitted that photographs that appear on social media might be deceptive, especially in these days of A.I. generated images, but opined that what has been seen of the playing surface at the venue of Tuesday’s match is not satisfactory physically.
Egbe, who is renowned for laying artificial surfaces in many sports arena across Nigeria, took to social media to express his worries regarding the pitch in Bissau, which he described as a common misnomer in many African countries.
“When we talk about the poor state of football pitches in Africa, many people think we are exaggerating, but the reality is becoming impossible to ignore.
“The pitch awaiting the Super Eagles in Guinea Bissau is a serious concern. From what we have seen and assessed, its playing characteristics are even more worrying than what we have experienced at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
“This is not about whether the pitch looks green in photographs. Football is not played on a photograph. The real questions are: How does the ball travel? How consistent is the surface? What is the traction like? How does the pitch respond to high-speed passing, changes of direction, acceleration and technical play?”
Egbe went on to raise more questions about the challenges that Nigeria’s players are bound to come up against on a bad surface, especially considering that the Eagles’ array of foreign-based stsrs, many of who were born abroad, are used to playing on smooth pitches.
“Does it allow the players to express their football? The Super Eagles are built around players accustomed to fast, technical and precision football. On a poor or inconsistent surface, that style can be severely compromised.
“Instead of fluid football, the players may be forced into a different kind of game, more physical, more direct and more about surviving the conditions. They may have to muscle it out. The pitch is not just another part of the stadium. The pitch is the 12th player.
“Until African football administrators begin treating pitch quality as a core football development issue rather than a cosmetic stadium issue, we will continue to see elite players being asked to perform on surfaces that do not support elite football.
“Every green is not a green for football. Test the pitch. Measure it. Certify it. Maintain it. Then let the football speak,” concluded the vastly experienced and well travelled sports pitch manufacturer, who is fondly called ‘Moni Luv.’
