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| Full name | Enyimba Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Peoples' Elephant,The Aba Warriors | ||
| Founded | 1976; 49 years ago (1976) | ||
| Ground | Enyimba International Stadium Aba, Abia, Nigeria | ||
| Capacity | 16,000[citation needed] | ||
| Owner | Abia State Government | ||
| Chairman | Nwankwo Kanu | ||
| Coach | Stanley Eguma | ||
| League | Nigeria Premier Football League | ||
| 2024–25 | Nigeria Premier Football League, 6th of 20 | ||
| Website | www | ||
Enyimba Football Club, commonly known asEnyimba, is a Nigerian professionalfootball club based in the city ofAba, Abia State which plays in theNigerian Professional Football League. Their name meansPeople's Elephant inIgbo language and is also the nickname used for the city of Aba.[1] Founded in 1976, the club rose to prominence in the 2000s and is considered the most successful Nigerian football club as they have won two consecutiveAfrican Champions League titles, nine Nigerian championships and fourFederation Cups since 2001.[2] Their most recent league glory came in the2022–23 season.[3]
The club was founded as a state-owned club in November 1976 by Jerry Amadi Enyeazu, who was the first Director for Sports in the newly establishedImo State, a province in southeast Nigeria.[4] In August 1991, Imo State was divided further andAbia State was created from the part of Imo which included the city of Aba, Enyimba's hometown, so the new state government took over as owners of Enyimba.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Enyimba struggled to make a notable impact as the traditional powerhouses such asEnugu Rangers,Shooting Stars,Bendel Insurance and local rivalsIwuanyanwu Nationale dominated Nigerian football. Enyimba's rise to fame began in 1990 when the Professional League was inaugurated.
In their first season in the top division, Enyimba finished 13th out of 16 clubs, winning just five out of 30 games with a goal difference 25–36. In the following season, they won eight games but still finished 15th with 36 points, just one point short from escaping relegation behindStationery Stores, and were relegated to second level for the 1992 season. Enyimba stayed in thesecond level for the next two seasons before winning promotion in 1993, finishing first with 29 wins out of 46 games, winning a record 96 points with a goal difference of 64–25, with most goals scored and fewest goals conceded in the 24-team league.
Back at the top level, their string of good results continued, and they finished the 1994 season third, behindBCC Lions andShooting Stars, missing out on a spot in the 1995CAF Cup on goal difference. After a mediocre 1995 season, they won fourth place in 1996, before a series of inconsistent results saw them narrowly escaping relegation on goal difference in 1997 and finishing seventh in the 1999 season.
ThePeople's Elephant experienced international football for the first time in August 2001, when they were invited to playInter Milan atSan Siro in a charity friendly which marked the return ofRonaldo after a 21-month injury layoff and saw Enyimba thrashed 7–0 with four goals fromChristian Vieri.[5]
The club went on to win their second successive league title in 2002, and then became the first Nigerian club to win the continent's premier international club competition in the2003 CAF Champions League by beatingIsmaily ofEgypt 2–1 on aggregate, under coachKadiri Ikhana.[6][7] This was also the first time since1996 that a Nigerian club had reached the final of the competition. Several key players from Enyimba's 2003 continental success have since gone on to play forNigeria (Vincent Enyeama,Obinna Nwaneri andOnyekachi Okonkwo) and Benin Republic National Team (Muri Ogunbiyi).[8]
Enyimba then successfully defended their title as they won their second consecutive African Champions League title in2004, beatingTunisia'sÉtoile du Sahel in the finals.[8] After finishing runners-up in the national championship in 2004 (behindDolphins), Enyimba won theDouble in 2005, winning their fourth Nigerian championship and their firstNigerian Cup.[9]
In 2003, Enyimba won the best team in Africa award while coach Kadiri emerged the best coach. In 2004, the club retained the best coach award while the club's first choice goalkeeper,Vincent Enyeama won the Champions league player of the year.
These two Champions league victories in the hands of West African teams, plus the secondCAF Super Cup againstAccra Hearts of Oak finally brought Enyimba to the limelight of African football. The team signed a $300,000 uniform deal withJoma in 2008.[10]
The 2016 season was not so favorable for People's Elephants as end the season being ninth on the league with 50 points.[11]
Enyimba finished third in the league with 61 points. The third position saw Enyimba qualify to representNigeria at theCAF Confederations Cup the following season.[12]
On 12 June, 2019, Enyimba won a record 8thNigeria Premier Football League title, to move one clear ofRangers International F.C. on the all-time rankings.[13] The title was clinched after a 3-0 victory overAkwa United, with goals from Reuben Bala,Stanley Dimgba andAbdulrahman Bashir, during the Super Six Championship Playoffs in which they garnered 12 points from 5 matches.[14]
The2022–23 Nigeria Professional Football League season had an abridged format in which teams were split into two groups of 10, with the top 3 teams from each group qualifying for the Super Six Championship Playoffs.[15] On 21 May, 2023, the final day of the regular season, the team coached by formerNigeria national football team winger,Finidi George, secured a Super Six Championship Playoff spot with a draw againstShooting Stars SC in Ibadan.[16]
On 3 June, 2023, they facedRemo Stars in the first game of the playoffs, atOnikan Stadium. In the second half, they went ahead throughAdiele Eriugo but were pegged back soon after byJunior Lokosa. They were soon awarded a penalty after a foul onChijioke Mbaoma by Segun Olalere.Chukwuemeka Obioma converted the penalty to give them the lead again. Instoppage time, Remo's captainNduka Junior scored a free kick. The game ended 2-2.[17][18]
On 5 June, 2023, Enyimba facedLobi Stars in the second round of playoff games. The only goal of the game early in the first half throughChukwuemeka Obioma. The 1-0 victory sent them to the top of the standings.[19][20]
On 7 June, 2023, they facedBendel Insurance, who were on a 20-game unbeaten run, in the third round of playoff games.[21] In the 23rd minute, The People’s Elephant went ahead through Sadiq Abubakar. In the 37th minute, Divine Nwachukwu equalised forBendel Insurance. There was no goal in the second half and the game ended 1-1.[22]
On 9 June 2023, Enyimba facedSunshine Stars in the fourth round of playoff games without league top scorer, Chukwuemeka Obioma, who had picked up an injury in the previous game. They went ahead in the 3rd minute throughChijioke Mbaoma.[23] In the 8th minute, he doubled their lead.Midfielder, Ikenna Cooper, sealed a 3-0 win with a free kick in the 66th minute. They remained top of the standings ahead of their final day opponents,Rivers United, on goal difference.[24]
On 11 June 2023, Enyimba facedRivers United in the NPFL title decider with both teams locked on 8 points and separated by goal difference.[25] Earlier in the day,Remo Stars had beatenBendel Insurance 1-0 to go top of the table on 9 points. This result meant that Enyimba only needed a draw to win the title, as they had a superior goal difference to the other two contenders.[26]
Enyimba took the lead in the 39th minute through Ekene Awazie and went into halftime 1-0 up. Three minutes after the restart,Rivers United equalised through Nwangwa Nyima but The People's Elephant held on till the end to clinch their record-extending ninthNigeria Premier Football League title.[27][28][29][30]
Enyimba currently uses theEnyimba International Stadium located in the city ofAba inAbia State. The stadium was renovated in 2018.[31]
As of 12 February 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Kosta Papić(1998–02)[32]
Shaibu Amodu(2002–03)[32]Kadiri Ikhana(2003–04)[33]
Michael Urukalo(2004)[33]Okey Emordi(2004–05)[34] Alphonsus Dike(2005–06)[35]
Maurice Cooreman(Oct 2006 – 9 Feb)[35][36]Daniel Amokachi(2008)Augustine Eguavoen(2008–09)Okey Emordi(Aug 2009 – Nov 2011)[37] Abdu Maikaba (Nov 2011– Jan 2016)[38]Paul Aigbogun(Jan 2016 – Jul 2018)[39]
Ali Hanteh(Jul 2018 – Jan 2020)[40]Fatai Osho(Jan 2020 – 2021)[41]Finidi George(Sept 2021 – May 2024)Yemi Daniel Olanrewaju(May 2024 – Dec 2024)Stanley Azunda Eguma(Jan 2025 – current)
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