Enyimba departs for Cote d’Ivoire today

• LMC to announce NPFL’s resumption date next week
Nigeria’s remaining representative in African inter-club competitions, Enyimba of Aba will leave Lagos today for Abidjan for the reverse leg of its CAF Confederation Cup tie with Williamsville FC.

Enyimba beat the Ivoirian side 1-0 in Port Harcourt two weeks ago to lead Group C of the competition on six points. Other teams in the group are CARA of Congo and Mali’s Djoliba FC. A win or draw for Enyimba will take it closer to the semifinal of the competition, which is Nigeria’s only hope of winning an inter-club continental laurel this year.

Meanwhile, the League Management Company (LMC) is expected to announce the resumption of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) next week.

The NPFL went on break before the just concluded World Cup to allow the players and clubs follow the proceedings in Russia. It was supposed to resume on July 18, but the LMC was forced to suspend it indefinitely due to the leadership crisis that dogged Nigerian football after Russia 2018.

The LMC then hinged its decision to suspend the league on the “adverse circumstances in the administration of football in the country, as a result of which sponsors, partners and service providers have expressed strong concerns and are reviewing their involvement in the league.

“Furthermore, organising matches of the NPFL under the current circumstances might cause irreversible damage to the league brand.”

An official of the league body told The Guardian yesterday that the LMC had taken into account the return to normalcy in the football sector and will soon communicate the resumption date to the clubs.