Abuja — The police said yesterday that they had made adequate security arrangements for the FIFA U-17 World Cup which begins on Oct. 24.Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Force PRO, said in Abuja that the police had enough men and material to ensure safety and security of participants and the fans.

The competition will take place in eight cities: Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Enugu, Calabar, Ijebu Ode and Lagos.Nigeria will play Germany in the opening game in Abuja.

"The Nigeria Police are very much aware of the U-17 World Cup being hosted by Nigeria later this month. To that effect, we have made adequate arrangements in the area of security for footballers, officials and spectators in the various cities where this event will take place.

"In addition to that, we will send our surveillance men to monitor events before, during and after the games. We have enough men and material on ground to ensure safety and security of persons involved in that competition," Ojukwu said.

He said the police would deployed its anti-terrorism team and would mount patrols around the stadia and hotels where the competitors would stay.

According to him, this game is a boost to the Nigerian economy because foreigners are coming to spend their money in the country.

Ojukwu urged the fans to portray the country's good image by not making trouble throughout the competition because "the country is in the era of rebranding".

The participating countries are Nigeria, Germany, Honduras, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, Iran, Gambia, Colombia and the Netherlands.

Others include Turkey, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Malawi, Spain, USA, Uruguay, Korea Republic, Italy and Algeria.