Nigerian Football
Enyimba receive Nigerian football league jackpot from GTI
Strategic partner to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited has officially confirmed that champions of the just concluded NPFL Championship Play-offs, Enyimba International Football Club of Aba has received their N100million prize money from the company.
Project Director of The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF), Nelson Ine revealed this in a press release made available by TNFF Head of Media & Publicity, Andrew Ekejiuba to journalists in Lagos on Friday.
Ine who spoke to the management of Enyimba revealed that the People’s Elephant camp expressed their profound gratitude to GTI and the Interim Management Committee (IMC) for making this happen.
“On behalf of GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited I want to confirm the receipt of the prize money of N100million by the 2022/2023 NPFL champions Enyimba FC of Aba.
“I personally spoke with the team officials and management of the club as they all confirmed that the money is now in the account of the club,” Ine began.
He further revealed that the remaining five clubs who took part in the NPFL Championship Play-offs that held in Lagos from June 3 to 11, also received N5million each for qualifying and participating in the competition.
Ine stated that GTI has fulfilled its promise to the clubs which they made prior to the beginning of the abridged league and charged the clubs to utilize the funds judiciously for the good of football development in Nigeria.
“As an organization, we are strongly committed to repositioning the Nigeria Premier Football League and that is why we hit the ground running. Next season will be keenly contested because the stakes will be higher than what we saw this season.
“Our advice to clubs is for them to go all out and attract the services of the best legs in the continent and beyond and fortify their teams ahead of next season.
“GTI and IMC have just set the tone and there will be no going back in the restructuring of our league. Nigerian clubs can do the needful by working towards regaining their dominance in African club football. Our worthy champions Enyimba did it in 2003 and 2004 respectively and they can do it again alongside Remo Stars and Rivers United.
“GTI has set up a transparent football ecosystem which is the best way to restore confidence in our clubs, sponsors, investors and stakeholders of our beautiful game,” Ine concluded.
The miserable run of Akwa United and Ikorodu City came to an end after six games in the Nigerian Premier League this season. Both teams were initially glued at the bottom of the league table.
They now got respite as Akwa United beat Kano Pillar by 2-0 while Ikorodu City even did what could be considered an upset, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0.
Remo Stars bounced back to the top of the log after a 3-0 defeat of Nasarawa United. Shooting Stars are yet to get their rhythm this season, playing a barren draw with Enyimba in Ibadan.
Kwara United who got their first full points of the season last week after a 1-0 defeat of Remo Stars could not consolidate as they were beaten 1-0 by Abia Warriors.
Heartland under Emmanuel Amuneke are gradually recovering as they got a valuable away draw against El-Kanemi Warriors.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is 75 years since Nigeria’s national football team first played an international match. That was on 8 October 1949 when the first set of Nigeria’s assembly on their return voyage stopped over in Freetown and engaged Sierra Leone in an international football match. Nigeria won 2-0, setting a chain of positive results on 8 October.
The country never lost any competitive duel on that date. More significantly, the Super Eagles first qualified for the World Cup on an 8 October date.
That was in 1993 when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria in the quest for USA ‘94 World Cup.
Nigeria became the first English-speaking African country to qualify for the World Cup. Another significance of the October 8 match at the July 5 Stadium, Algiers is that Nigeria were unbeaten for the first time by Algeria at home.
The only deviation from the 8 October Magic was in 2015 when Nigeria lost 2-0 to Congo in a friendly match.
Twenty-six years after Nigeria’s debut international match, one of Africa’s biggest football nations, Egypt fell to the October 8 magic, losing 4-0 to Nigeria in the last stage of the triangular World Cup qualifying series for Argentina ’78.
Up till October 15, 2013, when Ghana beat Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi, the October 8, 1977 duel with Nigeria remained Egypt’s biggest loss in a World Cup qualifying match.
Before the 1977 duel, Nigeria in 1963 played a friendly match with Liberia in Monrovia. The October 8 magic was active, even in an away match. Nigeria drew 2-2 in their very first encounter with Liberia. It was shortly after the team had, through a protest, upturned a victory by Guinea to pick Nigeria’s very first African Nations’ Cup ticket.
Little wonder then that when FIFA suspended Nigeria in 2010, the world governing body provisionally lifted the ban on October 8!
Nigeria on 8 October
- 1949 – Freetown (Friendly) Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria
- 1963 – Monrovia (Friendly) Liberia 2-2 Nigeria
- 1977 – Lagos (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- 1993 – Algiers (World Cup qualifier) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria… qualify for USA ‘94.
- 2005 – Abuja (World Cup qualifier) Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- 2010 – FIFA, in apparent respect to the 8 October magic, provisionally lifted a ban imposed on Nigeria.
- 2011 – Abuja (African Nations Cup qualifier) Nigeria 2-2 Guinea. Although undefeated, Nigeria failed to make it to the 2012 African Nations Cup.
- 2015 – D.R. Congo beat Nigeria 2-0 in Visé, Belgium. The ‘October 8 Magic’ is finally broken.
Rivers United have launched themselves to the top of the log at the end of the match day 5 of the Nigeria Premier League. The Port Harcourt side beat Akwa United 2-1 to go afloat after initial leaders, Remo Stars crumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Kwara United in Ilorin on Sunday.
It was Remo Stars’ first defeat in the season. Rivers United are now with 13 points. Stephen Mayo put Rivers United ahead after 31 minutes. But it turned a temporary lead as Akwa United bounced back almost at the blast of the referee’s whistle for the second half.
Friday Apollos levelled up for Akwa United before Ndifreke Effiong Udo scored the winner in the 85th minute.
Sunday Results
- Kwara United 1-0 Remo Stars
- Rangers International 1-0 Abia Warriors
- Heartland FC 2-0 Niger Tornadoes
- Kano Pillars 2-0 Sunshine Stars
- Plateau United 1-0 Ikorodu City
- Rivers United 2-1 Akwa United
- Enyimba 3-0 Katsina United* Suspended
- Nasarawa 0-0 Bayelsa United
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