By Jonathan Ugbal
The Enyimba football club of Aba has settled for the U.J Esuene Stadium in Calabar, the Cross River State capital as venue for their Premier League and CAF Confederation Cup home matches reports the PUNCH Newspapers.
The people’s elephant as at last weekend were unsure of their home base as their stadium in Aba is currently undergoing renovation.
But, the Chairman of the Cross River State Sports Commission, Mr. Orok Duke, in a joint press conference with Enyimba officials, confirmed that the club will use the about 30,000 seater stadium as their home for the 2018 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.
Duke said: “I want to confirm here that we have accepted and actually written to them confirming our readiness and willingness to host Enyimba for the year 2018 season and all their matches.”
And, the Chairman of Enyimba, Felix Anyasi-Agwu, averred that: “Coming to Calabar is our second missionary journey and Calabar is our home. We have played matches here and we always succeeded. So, Calabar is a beautiful place that has welcomed us.
“We feel much at home and the bond between us and Cross River State cannot be separated.
“I was a little bit disturbed when I saw stories insinuating that there were issues about Enyimba not being accepted in Calabar. That is very strange. That same day we trained on the pitch and we used the main bowl.”
The club its first home game on Wednesday when they played a goalless draw with Heartland football club.
Their next game is away at Katsina against Katsina United football club on Sunday before returning to host Nassarawa United in Calabar on Wednesday, January 24, 2018.
The club had used the pitch for the 2017 NPFL season and finished third on the log which qualified them for the CAF Champions league.
It is expected the attraction of continental football to Calabar will boost the local economy and increase interest for the sport among residents.
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