American musician Akon has formed an unlikely partnership with oil and gas giants Shell to create Africa’s first human and solar powered football pitch.
Based at Federal College of Education in Lagos, Nigeria, the incredible new football pitch is based around the invention of a young British engineer Laurence Kemball-Cook, who uses solar power and the movement of players to power the pitch.
By placing electronic tiles underneath the artificial turf, the movement of the players is converted into power by kinetic energy. It is understood that seven watts of electricity are generated every time a player stands on one of the tiles.
Akon, who spent much of his childhood in the West African country Senegal, joined celebrations in Lagos to officially open the new pitch which has six powerful and low consuming LED floodlights.
‘It’s brilliant,’ said Kusagba Oluwadamilola, an 18-year-old sports student, who plays for the football team at the Federal College of Education.
‘It’s going to be really useful. Until now we couldn’t play at night,’ he told AFP.
