Growing up in this vibrant city, I vividly remember our church choir singing a chorus on many Sunday mornings that went,
“…O Lord Jesus, how long?
Ere we hear the glad song,
Christ returneth,
Hallelujah, Amen…”
That song was all anticipation, a longing for a transformative event that would set things right. No, I haven’t turned clergy overnight and my nice little sermon ends right here! I speak however of something quite important too.
Monday evening, that which we greatly feared, came upon us! (OK, No more King James Language). CAF released its list of “pre-approved” venues for the second preliminary round of club tournaments. Unsurprisingly, our beloved “Enyimba International Stadium” didn’t get the approval. Am I shocked? Of course not! Even Remo Stars, who managed to get a provisional nod for the first round, were told they’d have to find a new venue if they advanced. Maybe that’s why they didn’t—I mean, who wants to go begging around for a match venue?
For a club like ours, one that’s been somewhat constant on the continental stage for two decades and views missing out can be viewed as nothing short of a failure, it’s downright embarrassing that we’ll play our “home” games away from Aba. Sure, Uyo is just about an hour away, but it will never be home and it will never feel like home. While our pitch is among the best in Nigeria, our stands don’t even crack the top ten. We lack basic infrastructure—a tunnel, a mixed zone, to mention a few—and that’s unacceptable for a club of our stature. We have failed to grow with the standards and now we’re left behind. What a shame.
I still recall the current Abia State Government’s promise some months ago to build three 30,000-seater stadiums across the state. That should have a direct impact on Enyimba FC. Imagine what a world-class stadium, located in or near Aba, could do. More fans would fill the stands on match days, leading to increased revenue for the club. And with ex-internationals who’ve played in Europe now running the show, you know that any top-notch facility would naturally be expected to stay well maintained. Unfortunately, there’s been nothing else heard about that promise/project. Nothing at all. How long are we expected to wait?
It’s frustrating that we’re headed back to Uyo, just like last season, for our Continental games, but we believe in our team. We’ve done great things away from home before. After all, where did we win our first continental title? Even our last two league championships were secured outside of Aba. But does that mean we should accept this as the norm? Absolutely not!
I mean we can hold onto the confession of our hope without wavering, because the one who made the promises is reliable, Amen somebody?
‘EnyimbaEnyi
