Chelsea, Arsenal, others plan trip to Nigeria

BARRING any last minute change, four top European teams, Chelsea, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, may follow in the footsteps of Portsmouth and Manchester United who recently played a pre-season friendly match in Nigeria.



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According to arrangements being made by a London-based management company, NVA, the clubs would be in Nigeria for yet another football festival in June next year.

Quoting the Chief Executive Officer of NVA Management, Chris Nathaniel, a local website disclosed yesterday that the arrangements have almost been concluded.

"We are looking to bringing a number of big clubs next summer to Nigeria. We are at the early negotiation stage with various people and we hope that 2009 will be another great year for Nigerian football with the coming of these great European clubs, " Nathaniel

Nathaniel, who also manages players such as Nigeria's Obafemi Martins, stressed that the coming of the big Europeans clubs has helped send the message across the globe that Nigeria is a safe place.

"If you have the biggest clubs coming on your soil and leaving completely happy, you can't get a better commendation than that and other clubs would now start seeing Nigeria as a place to come to for pre-season," Nathaniel said.

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