Prince Okey Nwabeke, Team Manager of Enyimba International, has exclusively informed Completesports.com that Nwankwo Kanu, former Super Eagles captain and Executive Chairman of the club, has issued a bold directive to the players, insisting that a top-three finish in the current campaign is the minimum expectation.
Enyimba, nine-time champions of Nigeria’s top flight, are without a win in six games across all competitions and currently sit 9th in the standings with 24 points. However, they have three games in hand, having played only 16 matches in the first stanza of the season.
The People’s Elephant boss, Nwankwo Kanu, famously nicknamed ‘Papilo’, who captained Nigeria’s U-23 Dream Team to the historic 1996 Olympic men’s football gold medal — the first by an African nation — has urged his team to elevate their performance in the second half of the season. His target: a top-three finish to secure a return to continental football in the 2025/2026 season.
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“Despite our not-so-comfortable position in the NPFL standings, we know we can still make a strong comeback in the second round,” Prince Nwabeke told Completesports.com.
“If we don’t win the league title, we can still secure a continental ticket by finishing in the top three.
“It’s a tradition at Enyimba to always compete on the continent. Everyone is imbibing this culture of consistently representing Africa every season.
“The Chairman, Nwankwo Kanu, has made it clear: ‘It’s either you win the league title or secure a continental ticket — nothing less.’
“So, we’re working hard to achieve that goal. We have three outstanding matches, and we are focused on securing nine points from those games.
“In football, nothing is impossible. If we achieve that, you can rest assured we’ll be in second or third place.
“We won’t give up. It’s not over until it’s truly over. Why should we give up? We are Enyimba. We must defend the Elephant badge proudly displayed on our left chest,” Nwabeke asserted.
By Sab Osuji
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