Good day,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yesterday, the Nigeria Football Federation dropped the fixtures for the President Federation Cup Round of 64, and we\u2019ve been handed El Shama FC, the Gombe State FA Cup runners-up. They booked their spot with a 3-0 win in the playoffs, a full 90-minute affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, let\u2019s talk about this tournament for a second. The oldest cup competition in Nigeria, once the crown jewel of our football calendar, now feels like an afterthought. And I keep asking myself\u2014what does progress even mean around here? Why do we seem to resist it at every turn? The administrators? Only God understands their motives. Because how else do you explain the struggle to secure a reputable brand sponsor for a tournament of this magnitude?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, despite the chaos, one thing remains true: this is a golden ticket to the continent. And if Plan A (NPFL top three) gets more complicated, this is the next best route. Of course, we\u2019re not the only ones eyeing that path, as the race for continental slots gets even tighter and we are outsiders as the only thing that admits us to that talk is our pedigree which appears to be long forgotten in some quarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, before the cup game, Lagos is calling. We head to the Southwest for a league battle against Ikorodu City, another young, vibrant side. It\u2019s one of the two last games on Sunday, but sadly, it won\u2019t be on TV because Propel Sports Africa is on sabbatical. Typical of our football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is shaping up to be a week of long trips\u2014Aba to Lagos, then off to face El Shama. And what could be sweeter than returning home victorious? No one wants the usual problems, no excuses will fly, and with all the talks of an improved camp atmosphere, the only ones to hold accountable are ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s handle business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enyimba Enyi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Good day, Yesterday, the Nigeria Football Federation dropped the fixtures for the President Federation Cup Round of 64, and we\u2019ve been handed El Shama FC, the Gombe State FA Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"breadcrumbs_single_post":"","page_title_panel":"","breadcrumbs_single_page":"","single_page_alignment":"","single_page_margin":"","page_structure_type":"","content_style_source":"","content_style":"","blog_post_streched_ed":"","blog_page_streched_ed":"","has_transparent_header":"","disable_transparent_header":"","vertical_spacing_source":"","content_area_spacing":"","single_post_content_background":"","single_page_content_background":"","single_post_boxed_content_spacing":"","single_page_boxed_content_spacing":"","single_post_content_boxed_radius":"","single_page_content_boxed_radius":"","disable_featured_image":"","disable_post_tags":"","disable_author_box":"","disable_posts_navigation":"","disable_comments":"","disable_related_posts":"","disable_header":"","disable_footer":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_rishi_post_view_count":357},"categories":[6],"tags":[2,3,4,5],"class_list":["post-2132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-aba","tag-enyimba","tag-nigeria-professional-football-league","tag-npfl","rishi-post"],"yoast_head":"\n