It was an interesting evening as the Spanish football League side, Laliga Nigeria hosted the El-Clasico match in Ibadan.
The turnout was massive as thousands of Lead City University students and other football fans watched the encounter between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Present at the venue include, LaLiga Ambassador and former Nigeria International, Mutiu Adepoju, LALIGA Global Network Delegate for Nigeria, Desmond Chiji, and Multichoice crew, alongside other sports personalities.
The spectators were entertained with lots of fun, including ball juggler challenge, and music performances among others.
Speaking after the match, Adepoju said he was thrilled with the turnout, saying El-Clasico is the most-watched football game in the world.
He lauded the spectators for coming around to cheer the moment with Laliga.
Adepoju said: “As usual, El-Clasico is a party; the match is the best football game you could watch and you see the rivalry between the two teams. It was just fantastic.
“Barcelona had their chances in the first half and they really played very well but in the second half, Real Madrid came back, they had their chances in the second half and they scored two and won the match.
“The excitement of football was fantastic here at Lead City University. I really appreciate the students and everybody for coming to watch the encounter because it’s always a fiesta.”
Also, a Barcelona fan, Mecca Abdulahi, lauded LaLiga Nigeria for bringing the match to Lead City University.
He said it was all fun from Friday night till Saturday afternoon, treating the students well, saying they would love to host the return leg come next year.
He said: “It’s a wonderful experience, LaLiga has been entertaining the students since Friday night.
“The event started with a Friday night party where Laliga hosted the students till today’s match, the whole atmosphere was wonderful. Even though my team (Barcelona) lost, it was great as we had free drinks and small chops.
“I heard people saying El-Clasico is dying, but with today’s turn-up, it shows that El-Clasico has come to stay. Immediately Jude Bellingham equalised, I couldn’t hear anything, the noise was massive; that showed that El-Clasico is the biggest football rivalry in the world. I will love the return leg to be brought to Ibadan again, especially to Lead City University,” he said.
In his remarks, Desmond Chiji said the programme will be a continuous one as they are ready to engage students with other lines of programme at Lead City University.
“This is just a springboard for other things like we are trying to do with Lead City University; we have other programmes like grassroots football.
“The turnout was great and you can hear it for yourself and we are planning to visit here again.”
Jude Bellingham won the encounter for Real Madrid against Barcelona with a sensational performance after he scored twice to cancel out Ilkay Gundogan’s first-half goal.
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