{
  "id": 12047203,
  "title": "Akor Adams Insists on Standard Playing Surfaces for African Football",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/akor-adams-insists-on-standard-playing-surfaces-for-african-football",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-05T01:11:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/10/05/akor-adams-insists-on-standard-playing-surfaces-for-african-football/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Super Eagles forward Akor Adams has emphasized the need for African football to have standard playing surfaces, as opposed to using poor pitches as an excuse for Nigeria's 3-0 defeat in Guinea-Bissau. Speaking to NFF Media in Russia, the Italian Serie A forward insisted that African football should have a minimum standard for international games. He acknowledged that as professionals, the Super Eagles should have anticipated the challenges posed by low-quality pitches. Adams stressed that despite various factors such as weather and referees, a good pitch should be the bare minimum for a country with such a strong football tradition. He emphasized that Nigeria should not have lost the qualifier against Guinea-Bissau and took responsibility for the loss. The former Sevilla forward also assured Nigerian fans that they would learn from this experience and come out stronger in future games.",
  "summary": "Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles forward, Akor Adams, who has refused to use the poor pitch as excuse for Super Eagles 3-0 defeat in Guinea-Bissau last Tuesday, has urged African countries to",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}