CAF CONFED SEMIS
Enyimba players have cried out to Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, to approve the payment of their outstanding bonuses before they hit Rabat, Morocco for the crucial semifinal return leg clash against RAJA next week.
Enyimba go into the game with a 0-1 deficit from the Aba first leg, but the players are confident that they can turn the table if well motivated.
Sources at the club’s camp indicated yesterday that the players and their technical crew are dying in silence as they are owed series of match bonuses.
Efforts made to get some of them speak on the details of the matter however proved abortive as they were afraid of being reprimanded by the Enyimba management who are said to be on top of the situation.
The players challenged the Abia State Governor to pay them all their arrears and leave the Morocco return leg for them. “They may think we’re out of the competition, but I can assure you that we have the calibre of players to turn the tide in Morocco on the 24th of this month. This is not the first time we have been written off only for us to bounce back to shock the entire nation. After all, nobody gave this team a chance from the beginning,” one of the players said.
For reaching the Semi finals of this year’s CAF Confederation Cup, Enyimba has already earned some good hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Abia State Government.
Another insider who also did not want his name in print said “In all honesty, the state governor has tried, at least in the area of transforming the Enyimba Stadium into a world-class facility it is today. But all the players are asking is for the Governor to come out fully and support the players who see him as a father. I can tell you that if these boys get what they want, they are ready to die in Morocco, just to get to the finals of the competition and win the cup for Governor Okezie Ikpeazu. The CAF Confederation cup is the only elusive trophy yet to be seen in Enyimba’s trophy laden cabinet. The club therefore needs the trophy badly and should they get it, the Governor, who has already clinched the PDP ticket will have his campaign stress cut short, as the entire Abia will erupt in wild jubilation, reminiscence of what happened in 2003 when Enyimba won the first trophy.”
It would be noted that the players, prior to the first leg match in Aba played four matches in ninr days, including four days on the road while going to and coming back from Gombe where they topped their group in the Aiteo FA Cup qualifiers.
After the match last week in Aba, they were back on the road again to honour their match against Kano Pillars who beat them in the quarter finals.
“The players are human beings after all. So, the governor and the Enyimba management know what they need to do for the boys to get a good result in Morocco. A stitch in time saves nine. Enyimba has done it before in Africa and can still do it again,” our source said.
