Good day, my fellow lovers of the People’s Elephant!
The countdown is almost over.
The 2026/27 Nigeria Premier Football League season is fast approaching. We have all had the weekend of August 28 circled on our calendars for some time, and with barely three weeks until kickoff, the matchday-one fixtures have finally been released.
Credit must go to the NPFL board for remaining firm in its commitment to maintaining a fixed calendar. For a league that has often been criticised for shifting schedules, endless postponements and uncertainty, consistency in planning is a welcome development.
However, as the board itself admitted in its invitation to clubs for the Annual General Meeting, there is still plenty of work to be done.
For Enyimba supporters, though, the wait is about more than fixtures.
It is about information.
Every supporter is eagerly waiting to hear something official from the club. We know preseason friendlies have been played. Rangers came to Aba. Rivers United also visited. Warri Wolves had a date with the People’s Elephant.
Yet, anyone relying solely on Enyimba’s official platforms would hardly know that these matches took place.
At a time when supporters are desperate for updates following last season’s nightmare, the continued silence feels like a missed opportunity to reconnect with the people who stood by the club through one of its darkest periods.
Nobody is asking for state secrets.
Tell us who played. Tell us the score. Show us a few pictures. Let supporters know how preparations are progressing.
The little things matter.
How Far Have We Fallen?
Recently, ahead of the CAF interclub competition draws, a ranking of Africa’s leading clubs was released. Enyimba found themselves in 45th position, level on points with clubs such as ASC Jaraaf, Bravos do Maquis, CD Lunda-Sul, Jwaneng Galaxy, US Monastir and ES Sétif.
On the surface, finishing among Africa’s top 50 clubs may appear respectable.
But Enyimba should never judge its progress by simply making the top 50.
Our standards have always been different.
The painful reality is that we have fallen behind in a region we once dominated. Enyimba used to be the benchmark for West African club football. Today, we are chasing the clubs that have taken our place.
Even closer to home, Rivers United sit 11 ranking points ahead of Enyimba and are currently Nigeria’s highest-ranked club. They, in turn, remain nine points behind West Africa’s leading side, ASEC Mimosas.
That should tell us everything we need to know.
Based on recent performances and continental participation, Enyimba cannot currently claim to be the leading club in Southern Nigeria.
That is difficult to admit.
However, pretending otherwise will not alter the reality. Perhaps that is exactly why the coming season feels so important.
What Do Enyimba Fans Really Want?
There is an interesting pattern supporters have noticed over the years. Enyimba appear to have developed a habit of winning league titles during election years.
With another election cycle approaching, many people around the club have already declared the league title as the target.
Personally, I decided to ask a few fellow supporters what they wanted from the new season.
Surprisingly, many barely mentioned winning the title.
The most common answers were stability, consistency, direction and a club they could believe in again.
I will gladly accept the league title if it comes, but I completely understand their position.
After surviving relegation on the final day of last season, supporters are no longer asking only for a trophy. They are asking for evidence that Enyimba are becoming a serious football club again.
Recruitment has largely happened behind closed doors. Preseason has remained unusually quiet. Perhaps something special is being built away from the spotlight.
Maybe the foundations are being laid for Enyimba to rise again like the phoenix.
Maybe not.
Only time will tell.
Minna Is Only the Beginning
Enyimba will begin the season with a trip to Minna to face Niger Tornadoes.
Naturally, the objective must be to start on the front foot and return home with a positive result. However, regardless of what happens on the opening day, the long-term destination must remain unchanged.
Enyimba must return to the summit of Nigerian football and gradually move closer to the top of the African game.
That journey will not begin with slogans, motivational graphics or annual promises.
It must begin with culture, professionalism and a deliberate effort to study the best practices of successful football clubs around the world and adapt them to our own reality.
We may not possess every resource we need today, but we must maximise what we currently have while working deliberately towards what we lack.
Progress is built one step at a time.
It is not created through projects that generate excitement when announced but are quietly abandoned a few months later. The unfinished gym project remains one example supporters have not forgotten.
Enyimba cannot keep launching ideas without completing them.
A great club must be able to plan, execute and sustain.
Results Will Always Matter
At the end of the day, football has one language that everyone understands:
Results.
Nobody expects Enyimba to win the opening ten matches of the season. Of course, if that happens, none of us will complain.
What supporters desperately want, however, is visible progress.
We want a team that improves every week.
We want a club that learns from its mistakes.
We want a management structure that avoids unnecessary distractions, unpaid obligations and embarrassing headlines.
Last season provided more than enough lessons.
Shooting Stars did not explode out of the blocks. Their beginning was far from spectacular, but they remained consistent, trusted their process and eventually secured continental football.
Enugu Rangers offer another useful example. They have won two league titles in recent years without always beginning the campaign as overwhelming favourites.
They simply continue doing the right things repeatedly.
That is what consistency looks like.
The NPFL is not a sprint. It is a marathon.
Returning to the top of African football is an even longer race. Perhaps it is closer to the Tour de France than a hundred-metre dash.
It demands patience, planning, discipline and the courage to continue working even when the immediate rewards are not visible.
Support Must Never Be Taken for Granted
The average Enyimba supporter will always stand behind the club.
But that loyalty must never be taken for granted.
Supporters cannot continue pouring their emotions, time and money into the club while receiving silence, poor communication and avoidable embarrassment in return.
If Enyimba truly want to return to where the club belongs, we must first become intentional about the little things.
Fix what can be fixed today.
Lay the foundation for what can only be achieved tomorrow.
Build structures that outlive individuals.
Create a culture that makes success sustainable rather than accidental.
The journey back will not be completed in one match, one transfer window or even one season.
But it must begin somewhere.
And with the 2026/27 season almost upon us, there can be no better time to take the first serious step.
Only then can we honestly say that the People’s Elephant is on its way back.
Enyimba must be great again.
EnyimbaEnyi
