Beginning from September, four Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) clubs will fly Nigeria’s flag in the 2023/24 Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) inter-club tournaments, the Champions League and Confederation Cup as the country bids to return to the summit of African football again.
It was indeed a long and tortuous journey for the clubs after they all went through the hassle of playing at least two matches in a week in the just concluded NPFL season.
At the end of the regular season which was abridged, the first three teams from Group A and Group B qualified for the Super 6 playoff, which eventually determined the league winners as well as the clubs that will now represent Nigeria in the continent.
The clubs, Enyimba, Remo Stars, Rivers United, Sunshine Stars, Bendel Insurance and Lobi Stars converged on Lagos to battle for the two Champions League and one Confederation Cup slots.
At the end of hostilities, Enyimba, Remo Stars and Rivers United finished in first, second and third positions respectively to pick the two Champions League tickets and one of the Confederation Cup tickets in that order.
Meanwhile, Bendel Insurance who ended the regular season unbeaten but failed to shine at the Super 6 Play-Off in Lagos atoned for the disappointment as they piped Rangers 1-0 in the Federation Cup finals on Wednesday in Asaba to pick the second Confederation Cup ticket.
Trust Sports, therefore, recounts the journey these clubs had to go through for a chance to represent Nigeria in CAF inter-club competitions in 2024.
Enyimba
Enyimba emerged champions of the 2022/2023 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) after winning the Super-Six play-Off after a 1-1 draw against Rivers United on the final day of the Championship Play-Off which was held at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Arena in Lagos. The victory also brings Enyimba’s domestic league titles to nine. But the victory in Lagos on June 11 didn’t come on a platter of gold for the Aba Warriors as they had to dig in their boots to eventually win the league title.
The Finidi George-led side won the league on superior goal difference after tying on nine points with Remo Stars and Rivers United but their journey to victory began from the abridged season where they finished third in Group A with 32 points after winning 9, losing 4 and drawing 5 games. Enyimba ended the regular season scoring 25 goals while conceding 12 with a goal difference of +13.
Their success in the regular season qualified them to play in the Super 6 play-Off where they played 5 games and won 2, drew 3 without a loss to earn nine points and goal difference of +4 which eventually helped them to win the title.
It will be recalled that in the final game, Enyimba drew first blood in the 39th minute as Ekene Awazie dispatched a well-taken strike. However, Rivers responded immediately after the halftime break, with Nyima Nwagua, stabbing the ball into the net after a goal line scuffle.
The “Peoples Elephants’ held on for a famous draw that extended their record as the most successful club in the Nigerian league.
Remo Stars
The Ikenne-based club finished second in Group A with 33 points. The Sky-Blues won 9, drew 6 and lost 3 in the regular season. They scored 21 goals and conceded 14 with a goal difference of +7.
Remo Stars moved into Lagos to bid for the title where they shone brightly winning two matches and drawing three without a loss. They scored 8 goals and conceded 5 to end the Super 6 with a goal difference of +3.
Remo Stars picked up a historic 1-0 win over their long-time rival and nemesis, Bendel Insurance in their final match to claim a first-ever ticket to the CAF Champions League ahead of Rivers United.
The ‘Benin Arsenals’ had secured a win and a draw against the Sky Blue Stars during the regular season and had never lost to them in their history but that changed when midfielder Akanni Qudus scored the game’s only goal in the 36th minute.
Rivers United
The 2021/22 NPFL champions finished first in Group B with 34 points after nine wins, 7 draws and two losses to Lobi Stars and Doma United. The ‘Pride of Rivers’ scored 24 goals but conceded 15 to have a goal difference of +9. During the Super 6, they won two matches, drew three and lost none to finish with 9 points. However, they scored six goals but conceded four which cost them the title and a Champions League ticket.
History has it that only two clubs, Enyimba and Kano Pillars have defended their league titles in the last 22 years. While Enyimba completed a treble between 2001 and 2003, Kano Pillars did the same a decade later and as such Rivers United also aimed for the same glory but fell short.
The Stanley Eguma led boys did so much to defend their title, even to the extent of halting the 21-game unbeaten record of Bendel Insurance but when it mattered most, the faltered against Enyimba as they failed to pick the maximum points in the final match against the former African champions.
Bendel Insurance
The ‘Benin Arsenals’ ended the regular season unbeaten as they finished top of Group A. Therefore, hopes were high that they would go on to win the Super 6 but when the chips were down, the ‘Gunners’ disappointed their teeming supporters.
In the regular season, the Edo State club won 8 and drew 10 matches to earn 34 points while scoring 22 goals and conceding 11 to earn a goal difference of +11. At the Super 6, they finished in fifth position after two losses and three draws.
Their season could have ended on a disappointing note if they had not reached the finals of the 2023 Federation Cup.
So, having lost in the league, Insurance then shifted their attention to the oldest club competition in Nigeria and were lucky to beat 10-man Enugu Rangers 1-0 to qualify to represent Nigeria in next year’s Confederation Cup.
With the win, Insurance no doubt emerged as the team of the season considering that they only returned to the Nigeria topflight at the beginning of the just concluded season.
Therefore, the four NPFL continental clubs now have their work cut out for them and it is expected that they will restore the lost glory of Nigeria in CAF inter-club competitions in 2024.
Enyimba, as the most successful of the four clubs, will be leading Nigeria’s charge for laurels on the continent. The ‘Peoples elephants’ as Enyimba are called are the only Nigeria side to have won the prestigious CAF Champions League and they did it in style with back-to-back victories in 2003 and 2004.
