Eight football clubs from Brazil’s Serie A, Kenya, Benin Republic, Sierra Leone and the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL) have been listed for the maiden Coal City International Cup in Enugu, Enugu State.
The maiden pre-season competition, being organised by Ski-HI Entertainment in partnership with Enugu State government, will kick off on August 1, 2024.
Speaking with journalists in Enugu during the week, the spokesman of the competition, Ifeanyi Ogbu, listed teams from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) that will participate in the competition as Enugu Rangers, Enyimba of Aba, Kano Pillars and Remo Stars of Ogun State.
According to Ogbu, they will be joined by a Brazil’s Esporte Clube Vitoria, Gor Mahia of Kenya, FC Kallon of Sierra Leone and Cotton FC of Republic of Benin.
He disclosed that the tournament would feature 15 matches at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu in nine match days, with each club receiving N5 million as appearance fee per match.
“This means that each club will get at least N15 million because they will play at least three matches.
“Also, the winner of the competition will pocket the sum of N50 million while the runners up will get N10 million,” he said.
Ogbu stated that the tournament would be used to boost the entertainment and economic profile of the state with Enugu expected to rake in N3.5 billion before the end of the competition.
He said: “With the successful hosting of this tournament, we can start talking about hosting international matches at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. It will also be a way to announce Enugu’s new stadium, which has been roundly and tastefully equipped by the state government.”
He commended the state government for allowing them the use of the stadium and free publicity and other supports, adding that the competition would be a yearly event.
The state commissioner for sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu, commended the organisers for the effort already put in place to host one of the best international club competitions in this part of the world.
While expressing happiness for the partnership, Ekweremadu stated that the state had already started looking at sports development as a business.
He urged residents of the state to brace up for the competition, assuring that government would do all in its power to accord it international status.
Present at the briefing were officials of Kano Pillars, Esporte Clube Vitoria and Enugu Rangers, among others.
