The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian national football team, as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events.

The Federal Government of Nigeria approved the contract for the construction of the National Stadium complex and Games Village on 18 July 2000.

The complex includes: Moshood Abiola National Stadium meets the requirements of the International safety standards; it is equipped with emergency service units, closed circuit security cameras as well as crowd control steel fencing.

Unfortunately, the stadium not being fully completed by then as well as an uprising amongst citizens especially in the northern city of Kaduna which resulted in loss of lives forced the pageant to relocate to London, England.

Apart from the All African Games, the stadium has hosted important football matches, such as World Cup qualifiers between Nigeria and other countries.

Apart from its function as a sports center, Moshood Abiola National Stadium serves as a home to cultural and religious events.

Due to this fact, several religious events occur each year that attract a lot of citizens and require a large capacity arena.

There were no plans whatsoever by the former military ruler late general Sani Abacha to build a national stadium in Abuja as some people might think[citation needed].

The Nigerian sports boss Amos Adamu advised the government to privatize the Abuja stadium immediately after the 2003 All-Africa Games in order to forestall the vandalisation typical of publicly owned buildings.

[9] The federal government of Nigeria, who owns 100% equity on the property at the moment, has faced a lot of antagonism both locally and internationally.

Through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Federal Government of Nigeria intends to grant a concession to a sole Concessionaire who will enter into an investment commitment, and essentially operate the stadium with a primary goal of generating revenue from the proceeds of sporting events, concerts, religious activities, corporate sponsorship, corporate advertising and other promotional activities.

The Concessionaire has the choice of assuming the role of Facility Manager for the property encompassed in the National Stadium and the Indoor Sports Complex, or employ a firm to perform the task.

On June 12, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari renamed the national stadium in Abuja after the winner of the 1993 presidential election, Moshood Abiola.

[12] The event at the Eagles Square was attended by other foreign leaders, including the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.