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South Africa soccer club officials held in Libya over unpaid bills

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Two South African football club officials who have been held in Libya for more than two weeks over unpaid bills will not be allowed to travel home until the debt is settled by Premier Division side Marumo Gallants, officials said.

Gallants team manager Rufus Matsena and physiotherapist Dina Dhlomo were kept back in Libya after the club failed to settle their hotel bill and other expenses incurred when they travelled for an African Confederation Cup tie in Benghazi on March 19.

They were not allowed to leave the hotel while the club still owed the establishment money, club officials told Reuters.

In a statement on Monday, Gallants said they were negotiating a settlement over what they termed a “financial dispute” while football officials told Reuters that the South African government had stepped in to try and settle the affair.

“Marumo Gallants management are in contact with the two employees, who have confirmed that they are safe and waiting for the matter to be settled,” the club said on Monday.

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Gallants are struggling at the bottom of the league in South Africa but confounded expectation by qualifying for the group stage of the Confederation Cup and then going on to win their group.

The travel costs to matches in Algeria, Libya and Zambia left the club short of cash and they were given help by provincial authorities this weekend to cover the expenses of staging their last group game in the competition, which was hosted in Soweto, Johannesburg on Sunday, officials said.

The trip to Libya last month was described as a “nightmare” by the club’s English coach Dylan Kerr, including three days holed up in transit in Istanbul while waiting for onward tickets to Libya to be bought.

They eventually flew to Benghazi on the day of the match, but arrived after the scheduled kickoff time. That was pushed back by three hours and the team went straight from the airport to the stadium where they lost 4-1. They arrived without their kit and had to get a new strip to play in.

Their hosts Al-Akhdar were not informed of the late arrival of their opponents, nor the decision by the Confederation of African Football to postpone the kickoff time. They arrived at the stadium to find no referee, no officials and no opponent.

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Kerr told Reuters he had been tremendously proud of the resilience shown by his players amid all the adversity.

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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CAF Confederation Cup

‘Nzogbu Nzogbu’ Enyimba enyi as Enyimba limp into Confederation Cup Group stage!

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It was not easy, but the end justified the means. Enyimba had to go through the lottery of penalty shoot-out to get into the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup on Sunday in Uyo after playing a barren draw with visiting Etoile Filante of Burkina Faso.

 The first leg also ended goalless leading to penalty shoot-out as tie breaker. Enyimba won 3-2 on penalties.

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CAF Confederation Cup

CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba target victory after Solid Showing in Bamako

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Enyimba FC head coach Yemi Olarenwaju has set his sights on securing a crucial victory in Sunday’s second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup tie against Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou.

His confidence is built on the  goalless draw in the first leg in Bamako.

“The job is far from over, and we can’t afford to celebrate yet. The return leg in Uyo will be crucial,” Olarenwaju was quoted by the club’s website as saying.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board, work harder, and prepare for the challenge ahead.”

Olarenwaju praised his team’s tactical edge and discipline, which nullified the hosts’ attacking threats. “We had a clear game plan, and the players executed it perfectly. Our tactical discipline prevented Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou from creating any meaningful scoring opportunities.”

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The Enyimba FC boss acknowledged the tough opposition but remains confident in his team’s ability to secure a win at home.

“Étoile Filante de Ouagadougou is a formidable opponent, but we have the quality and determination to get the job done in Uyo.”

As we look forward to the return leg, we urge all Enyimba FC fans to come out in their numbers and support the team at the Uyo Stadium. Let’s make our home advantage count and cheer the People’s Elephant to victory!

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CAF Confederation Cup

Enyimba’s midfielder, Daga confident of Confederation Cup group stage ticket

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Enyimba’s midfielder,  Daniel Daga, has pledged to lead club to victory against Etoile Filante in the return leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round on Sunday.

The People’s Elephant are looking to build on their impressive performance in the first leg, which ended in a goalless draw in Bamako, Mali. Despite creating several scoring opportunities, Enyimba were unable to find the back of the net.

However, Daga remains optimistic about their chances in the return leg having missed the first leg of the encounter due to a slight knock

“Our resolve is to win and advance to the group stages,” he stated confidently. “We understand that they are a difficult opponent, but we have just one task, which is to win, and that is exactly what we are going to do.”

A win for Enyimba FC would guarantee their spot in the group stages, a feat that would make them the only Nigerian team in the competition’s group phase.

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“We know the importance of this match, and we’re ready to give it our all,” Daga added. “We want to make Nigeria proud and show that we’re a force to be reckoned with in African football.”

Head coach, Yemi Olarenwaju, has been fine-tuning his tactics, and the team is eager to execute their game plan.

“The first leg result gives us an advantage, but we won’t take anything for granted,” Olarenwaju said. “We’ll push for victory and secure our spot in the group stages.”

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