FIFA honours Solaja for covering 10 editions of World Cup

Nigeria’s foremost sports journalist, Mr. Kunle Solaja, has been honoured by the world football-governing body, FIFA in Doha, Qatar for attending and covering 10 editions of the FIFA World Cup.

He was honoured on Tuesday, November 29 alongside 81 other journalists of repute who have attended and reported at nearly a score of the quadrennial global football fiesta and other glamour tournaments,

Solaja, a former Sports Editor of Concord Newspapers and the Guardian Newspapers, was awarded a certificate of achievement and a replica of the World Cup trophy, presented by Brazilian legend Ronaldo.

South Africa’s famous sports writer, Mark Gleeson, was the other African on the illustrious list of awardees.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has since congratulated the reputable journalist, prolific author and respected diarist on his laudable achievement.

“Today, we are proud to congratulate and celebrate one of our own, Mr. Kunle Solaja, for the honour bestowed on him by FIFA.

“To attend 10 FIFA World Cup finals is not a joke. Mr. Solaja is a man competent, diligent and passionate about his trade, and we join FIFA to celebrate him as an illustrious servant of the beautiful game,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said in Abuja.

Solaja’s illustrious odyssey began in 1986 in Mexico, and he has since attended the World Cup finals in Italy in 1990, USA in 1994, France in 1998, Korea/Japan in 2002, Germany in 2006, South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, before the ongoing finals in Qatar.