The release of the 2026/27 NPFL fixtures is another indication that the league management body intends to start the season on schedule. More importantly, it gives clubs something concrete to work with as they plan travel, logistics and preparations for another long campaign.
The countdown is now properly on as the weekend of August 28–30 approaches, with Enyimba beginning their season with a trip to Minna to face Niger Tornadoes. Yet, with kickoff drawing closer, one thing continues to confound me and many other supporters of the club: this growing culture of silence around Enyimba.
Nothing has been officially said about retained players. New signings remain largely hidden. Even the tune-up matches being played ahead of the season have been treated like classified government documents. We know Enyimba have faced other clubs during preseason, yet even some of those opponents have said little about the games. At this point, one begins to wonder whether everybody signed a non-disclosure agreement or simply agreed to participate in this strange conspiracy of silence.
There is nothing wrong with a team developing a siege mentality. Football has countless examples of clubs creating that “us against the world” mentality to block out destructive criticism, protect the dressing room and keep players focused. But whatever walls are being built should not shut out loyal supporters who stood firmly behind the team during some of its lowest moments last season.
Whatever project is being built in Aba needs the buy-in of the supporters. They are the people expected to power it with undiluted passion when things are going well and provide patience and understanding when difficult moments inevitably arrive. You cannot ask people to invest emotionally in something while refusing to tell them what exactly they are investing in.
While the players are building fitness and absorbing the technical and tactical instructions of the coaching staff, there is one area I hope is receiving serious attention behind those closed doors: set pieces.
The modern game continues to evolve around the finest margins. Clubs invest in nutrition, recovery, fitness, data analysis and specialised coaching simply to squeeze out small advantages over opponents. Set-piece preparation has become another important part of that evolution, with some clubs employing dedicated coaches or assigning members of the technical team specifically to corners, free-kicks and even throw-ins.
It makes perfect sense. There will be matches when the beautiful passing football refuses to work. There will be opponents who sit deep, close every space and practically challenge you to find another way through. In those moments, a well-rehearsed corner, a clever free-kick routine or even a dangerous long throw can turn ninety minutes of frustration into three points.
Sometimes the difference between two evenly matched teams is simply one delivery into the right area and one player attacking it properly.
One moment that immediately comes to mind is the dramatic 2013 Federation Cup final between Enyimba and Warri Wolves at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos. The People’s Elephant were trailing 2-1 with time running out and had struggled to break through a stubborn Wolves defence. Then came a free-kick and, more importantly, Ugwu Uwadiegwu.
Uwadiegwu had already played a part in Enyimba’s earlier equaliser from an indirect free-kick, but this time there was no need for assistance. From about 25 metres, he curled the ball over the wall and beyond Okiemute Odah to drag Enyimba back into the contest and force the game into a penalty shootout. Given that lifeline, the People’s Elephant grabbed it with both hands and eventually lifted the trophy.
That strike was not some random moment of fortune either. Uwadiegwu had already shown his ability from dead-ball situations, including a direct free-kick in a 2-0 league victory over Enugu Rangers. Unfortunately, that match is also remembered for his second yellow card after an excessive celebration against his former club. His thunderous effort from distance in the memorable Abia Derby against Abia Warriors the following year was another reminder of the technique he possessed.
Perhaps with the kind of detailed statistics available in football today, we would have appreciated his overall goal and assist contribution from dead-ball situations even more.
Scoring regularly from free-kicks requires a combination of natural ability and endless repetition on the training ground. Technique can be refined. Movement can be rehearsed. Players can learn exactly where to attack from corners and defenders can practise the movements required to stop opponents doing the same thing.
Which raises a simple question: when was the last time Enyimba had a player opponents genuinely feared whenever a free-kick was awarded around the penalty area?
In football’s current evolution, where increasingly small details separate contenders from everybody else, possessing either a naturally gifted set-piece specialist or a well-drilled collection of routines can become a genuine weapon over the course of a season.
And frankly, I do not care what people decide to call us if it works. Corner FC? Fine. Team Free-kick? No problem. Rory Delap United? Bring it on. Three points remain three points regardless of whether the winning goal came after twenty-seven passes or somebody launched the ball into the penalty area from the touchline.
Plateau United understood the value of such a weapon when Daniel Itodo’s remarkable long throws became an important part of their attacking identity. His rocket-like deliveries gave the Jos side another way of putting opponents under pressure and added an unpredictable dimension to their attack during a period that included their 2017 league title triumph.
That is exactly the point. Having a specialist option does not mean abandoning your football philosophy. It simply gives you another answer when the opponent has figured out your first one.
Enyimba should be searching everywhere for those little advantages next season. Corners, free-kicks, throw-ins, quick restarts, second balls and defensive organisation from dead-ball situations should all receive proper attention because league positions are often determined by the smallest margins.
A few extra goals from well-rehearsed set pieces across 38 matches can easily become the difference between mid-table and continental football, just as preventing a few avoidable goals from corners can turn draws into victories.
No stone should therefore be left unturned in the search for improvement after what we endured last season. If there is something that can make Enyimba harder to defend against, it should be explored. If there is something that can produce an extra goal, save an extra point or turn a difficult away match in our favour, it deserves attention.
Perhaps set pieces are already part of those mysterious plans being perfected behind closed doors.
If so, maybe this web of secrecy surrounding Enyimba will eventually reveal itself as some grand deliberate strategy.
We can only hope the secret is worth keeping.
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