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UNITED: Rio relishes Nigeria return

Rio Ferdinand will return to Nigeria for a second time this summer when United play fellow Barclays Premier League side Portsmouth at the Abuja Stadium.

/noticias.info/ Kick-off for the exhibition match, sponsored by the Tinapa Soccer Fiesta, has now been confirmed for 19:45 (UK and local time) on Sunday 27 July.

The match will be shown live in the UK and ROI on MUTV and worldwide on MUTV Online.

Ferdinand visited Nigeria in June, as a guest of Babatunde Raji Fashola, state governor of Lagos. The United defender launched the Lagos Street Soccer Championships, an initiative that aims to empower young children through sport and unearth Nigerian football prodigies.

“There are huge talents in Nigeria that can be as big as (Everton striker) Yakubu or (Portsmouth striker) Nwankwo Kanu,” said Rio.

“They just need someone to inspire them and make them believe in themselves. With what I’ve seen, I can help build an academy here that will see the best of Nigerian talent realise their dreams of being a professional footballer. The power of football here is unbelievable.”

United chief executive David Gill recently revealed there are more than 14million Reds fans in Nigeria. The status of opponents Portsmouth is also growing in Nigeria, thanks in part to the success of Kanu - scorer of the winning goal in the 2008 FA Cup final. notas_de_prensa_archivo