Nigeria's most modern stadium, the Akwa
Ibom International Stadium, has been
nominated for the 2014 Stadium of the Year
award.
According to a press release from StadiumDB,
which keeps a database of stadia worldwide,
the newly built Stadium in Uyo, nicknamed
"Nest of Champions", is among venues
nominated for the award.
A breakdown reveals that the current edition
includes 32 major stadiums opened in 2014.
Eight are located in Brazil, three in the USA,
while Hungary and Poland each have two
nominees.
"It's great to see a new stadium for Nigeria
to be proud of. Its white outer cladding and
illumination also make it stand out globally
and become a true landmark for Uyo,"
Grzegorz Kaliciak, founder of StadiumDB.com,
organizer of the competition, said.
Officially opened on November 7, 2014 by
President Goodluck Jonathan, the Akwa Ibom
International Stadium is set to be the new
hub of sporting activities in Nigeria even as
the Super Eagles have already adopted the
stadium as their new home ground, same as
the U23 team, Dream Team VI.
Seen as a largely transparent award, stadium
enthusiasts from around the world have been
accorded the chance to select their Stadium
of the Year.
"Each Internet user may vote only once by
selecting five most favourite stadia. Within
the first 4 days over 25,000 people have
given their vote through dedicated online
platform. The vote is open until February 17,"
the organisers said in a press statement.
"A separate vote is run by the competition
jury, consisting of famous architects from
five countries. Bob van Bebber and Mike Bell
from South Africa designed stadiums of the
2010 World Cup, while Bruno Campos from
Brazil was one of the architects of the 2014
World Cup in Brazil. The Jury also consists of
John Bontinck (Belgium), Bryan Roe (Ireland)
and Serban Tiganas (Romania).
The Public Vote and Jury Vote awards will
both be announced on February 19.
The Stadium of the Year is held every year in
January and February by Stadiony.net and
StadiumDB.com, two websites dedicated
solely to sports stadiums. Current edition is
already the fifth one. Previous winners
include Aviva Stadium (2010), PGE Arena
Gdańsk (2011), Gremio Arena (2012) and
Ghelamco Arena (2013).
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