Enyimba
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| Enyimba | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Enyimba International Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Peoples' Elephant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Enyimba International Stadium, Aba, Nigeria |
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| Capacity | 20,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | Felix Anyansi Agwu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Deboy Ekweronu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Globacom Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004/05 | Globacom Premier League, Winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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HISTORY
Enyimba International Football Club of Aba popularly called “The Peoples Elephant” was founded in November 1976 under the leadership of one of Nigeria’s leading Sports Personality of old, Sir Jerry Amadi Enyeazu.
He was the first Director of Sports in the then newly created Imo State, South East of Nigeria.
The club is therefore the property of the Abia state Government, South East Nigeria with the carving out of Abia from Imo state on 27th August 1991.
After its formation, due to the traditional and well established club sides in the country, Enyimba did not make any impact in the 70s and 80s, not with the famous Rangers of Enugu, Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Insurance of Benin holding sway. So Enyimba never won any laurels till the professional league was inaugurated in the country in 1990.
In the first season of the professional league, Enyimba finished 13th on the table with 36 points. The Club played 30 matches; won 5 drew 14 and lost 11. It scored 25 goals and conceded 36, with a difference of -11.The league then had a 16 team format.
In 1992/93 Enyimba was relegated to the second division. However, the club returned to the elite division, setting a record in the second division as the team emerged the champions in grand style winning with a massive 96 points which is a record in Nigerian football history till date.
Between 1994 & 1996 Enyimba placed 3rd & 4th respectively before they started recording epileptic performances which spanned for six years.
The history of the Peoples Elephant, changed in 1999 when a dynamic young man and business mogul, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu emerged as the newly elected Governor of Abia state after several years of military rule in Nigeria.
Things began to shape nicely for the team from that point.
In his inaugural speech, the sports loving Governor, like the Chelsea financier, Roman Abromavich took personal interest in making sure that Enyimba International football club of Aba becomes the best club in Nigeria and Africa.
One of the first things the Governor did was to change the Enyimba management board. This brought in a young vibrant, witty and result oriented chairman of the club Felix Anyansi Agwu.
In realization of his dreams with the new management team, the Governor fulfilled his promise to the football crazy people of Abia state as Enyimba won their first Nigerian professional league crown in 2001 under Coach Godwin Koko Uwa.
That year, Enyimba was invited to Italy on August 19th to play an International friendly match against Inter Milan in honour of their Brazilian striker Ronaldo who recovered from an injury.
Back home, the Nation’s football elite perhaps thought Enyimba’s league victory was a flash in the pan. This was however repeated in 2002, 2003 & 2005 under Coaches Kelechi Emetole and Kadiri Ikhana and Okechukwu Emordi who later went to Bush Bucks of South Africa (All former internationals).
Enyimba thus became the first club in Nigeria to win the Nigerian professional league for keeps. They also capped all these with the F.A. Cup for the first time in 2005, a year the club became the double Champions in Nigeria.
As the league champions in 2001, Enyimba represented Nigeria in the CAF Champions league in 2002. Due to the lack of a good playing ground at their base in Aba, the club played their home matches in Calabar, a neighbouring town and capital of Cross River state.
The Peoples Elephant was however eliminated in the second round of the continental competition by the 1998 Champions Asec Mimosa of Cote D’ Ivoire.
That shock defeat changed everything for the club as the financier; Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu took up the challenge to rebuild what used to be a play ground in Aba and transformed the Enyimba International Stadium into a 25,000 capacity International stadium, complete with floodlights, electronic scoreboard and covered.
The hallmark of Enyimba stadium was when the CAF president Alhaji Issa Hayatou personally inspected the stadium in 2003 and approved it for that year’s African Champions league matches.
Enyimba Int'l FC, complete with their new home ground in Aba, took African football by storm as 2002 Nigerian champions. The club broke a 38 year old jinx by being the first Nigerian club to win the CAF Champions league in 2003 under Coach Kadiri Ikhana assisted by Emmanuel Iorse and Ifeanyi Okeke as Goal keeper trainer.
En route to the finals, on April 13th 2003, Enyimba defeated Satellite F.C. Guinea, winning 3-0 in Aba. In the second leg in Conakry, Enyimba thrashed the Guineans 5-2 right before their fans in Conakry, Guinea. The Peoples Elephant ended the game on an 8-2 aggregate.
The second match on the 18th of May in Aba with Jeanne D ‘Arc of Senegal ended 4-0 in favor of The Peoples Elephant.
The second leg at the Leopold Sedar Senghor stadium in Darkar ended goalless as the Senegalese failed to score. Enyimba therefore qualified for the glamorous and lucrative group state of the competition with a 4-0 aggregate.
After the draws in Cairo Egypt, Enyimba was drawn in group A with Simba of Tanzania, Asec Mimosa of Cote D’Ivoire and Ismaili of Egypt.
In the first group match in Aba, Enyimba walloped Simba of Tanzania by 3-0. This victory sent a wrong signal to both players and officials who perhaps thought that the team had indeed arrived. This was not to be, as the Peoples Elephant received the greatest defeat in their history; a 6-1 demolition in the hands of Ismali in Ismalia town Egypt.
This loss turned out to be the tonic the club needed to reach to the high heavens. Enyimba at the end of the day qualified for the semi-final of the competition winning Asec 3-1 in Aba and 2-0 in Abidjan. They lost the return leg to Simba 1-2 but paid Ismaili back in their own coin with a 4-2 defeat in Aba.
Enyimba thus topped the group with 12 points after 6 matches, while Ismaili surprisingly came second with 11 points. They won 4, and lost 2. Scored 14 goals and conceded 11.
In the Semi-finals, Enyimba held Union Sportive du Medina of Algeria to a 1-1 draw in Algiers and in the return leg the Algerians nearly upstaged The Peoples Elephant as they opened scores in the 5th minute of the game. However, Enyimba equalized before the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Algerians held on till the 85th minutes when Micheal Ochei, who equalized in the first leg again came to the rescue with the much needed goal to crush the stubborn USMA team.
This victory set a titanic final with the same Ismali who also qualified to the finals. The stage was then set, and in the first leg played in Aba, The Peoples Elephant triumphed against the Egyptians with a 2-0 victory.
The second leg perhaps looked easy for the Egyptians who felt they would re-enact the 6-1 demolition of the quarter-final. But they were in for the greatest shock of their lives as the Kadiri Ikhana touted side lost to the Egyptians by a lone goal through a controversial penalty. Enyimba emerged victorious with a 2-1 aggregate and Captain Romanus Orjinta lifted the trophy to high heavens.
This defeat was to the Egyptians, unacceptable and the Egyptian media were so disappointed that they went as far as going off air in the live television coverage, thereby preventing the entire Africa and the rest of the world from watching the cup presentation.
Enyimba players and their hundreds of supporters led by their Chairman Ogbonnaya Agwu who came in chartered planes were held at the Ismailia stadium for over three hours after the match on the advice of the Egyptian police who first cleared the fans who had laid ambush outside the stadium waiting to attack the new African champions.
Back home in Nigeria, the entire nation went wild with jubilation as everybody, irrespective of their club affiliation were ectstatic. To them Nigeria had won.
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo honored the golden boys of Enyimba with a state banquet.
Back home in Aba and Abia state, the club financier and state Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu declared a public holiday in honor of The Peoples Elephant. In appreciation of the promise he made to the players and officials, a grand reception was organized while the team, in a carnival went round the entire state to have personal contact with their fans that had stood by them through tick and thin.
The Governor gave out one KIA Car to each player and official while the Club Chairman; Felix Anyansi Agwu got a Jeep for his wonderful efforts.
While many thought the victory of Enyimba was a flash in the pan, the club re-enacted the victory in 2004, beating Etoile Sportive Du Sahel of Tunisia in the finals in Abuja. This was after winning the same Tunisians’ in February in the Champion of Champions (Super Cup).
Both legs had ended 2-1 and in the ensuring penalty shootout, Enyimba’s reserve Goalkeeper; Dele Aiyenugba came in as a last minute substitute and won victory for Enyimba, saving two kicks. Dele had earlier in the Semi-final match against Esperance, also of Tunisia secured victory for Enyimba through another penalty shoot out. Dele Aiyenugba thus became a house hold name in the country.
These victories also attracted awards. In 2003, Enyimba won the best team in Africa while coach Kadiri emerged the best coach. In 2004, the club retained the best coach award while the club’s first choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama won the Champions league player of the year.
These two Champions league victories in the hands of North African teams, plus the second Super Cup against Accra Hearts of Oak finally brought Enyimba to the lime light of African football. Today, playing up to the quarter-finals of the African Champions league has become a yearly event.
The Peoples Elephant has become the toast and bride of African football and is currently exploiting marketing opportunities that will take the club to its deserved height. As always, the Enyimba city of Aba-Nigeria, from where the club derived its name has the greatest number of football fans in the entire Nigerian Nation.
The Enyimba stadium records a sell out in all its matches, both local and international. In years to come, the club may have no choice than to join what some English teams are doing by building a better and bigger stadium that will take the larger crowds everyday the team plays. But all these can only be done if the required sponsors step forward and embrace this latest beautiful brand of African Football.
While some say “…those days when we won trophies…” The Peoples Elephant is a real sponsor’s delight. The beautiful bride of African football. It is indeed, Africa’s club of the moment. The club has experienced a remarkable growth in recent times under the Chairmanship of Felix Anyansi Agwu.
[edit] Current Squad
Goalkeepers
- Dele Aiyenugba
- John Gaadi
Defenders
- Okey odita
- Odey Ogah
- Francis Okamoor
- Ajibade Omolade
- Ekene Emigo
- Okechukwu Nwanosike
- Mutiu Adegoke
Midfielders
- Chidozie Johnson
- Sam Ledor
- Musa Aliyu
- Nnaemeka Onovo
- Jax Tiger Martins
Strikers
- David Tyavkase
- Otawwa Louis Otawwa
- Oliver Agbo
- Atanda Sakibu
[edit] Achievements
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- 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005
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- 2005
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- 2003, 2004
[edit] External links
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| Group A: Adamawa United | Enugu Rangers | Heartland F.C. | Kaduna United FC | Kano Pillars F.C. | Kwara United F.C. | Wikki Tourists | Niger Tornadoes | Ocean Boys FC | Prime FC Group B Akwa United | Bayelsa United FC | Bendel Insurance FC | Dolphins FC | El-Kanemi Warriors | Enyimba | Gombe United F.C. | Lobi Stars | Nasarawa United | Zamfara United |
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