Former champions, Enyimba of Aba, who are currently fifth in the Nigerian Premier Football League (NPFL), believe that they have the quality to overtake the teams above them to pick either a CAF Champions League ticket or a Confederation Cup slot.

Remo Stars, who defeated Niger Tornadoes 1-0 to become champions of Nigeria for the first time, already have one of the two Champions League tickets, leaving the other slot and a Confederation Cup ticket to second-placed Rivers United, Abia Warriors, Ikorodu City and Enyimba.
 
The second-placed team will get the second Champions League ticket, while the club in third position will qualify for the Confederation Cup.
Six points separate Rivers United from fifth-placed Enyimba, who have 52 points, while Abia Warriors and Enyimba defeated Enugu Rangers 2-1 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium at the weekend.

Promising a strong finish to the season, Enyinba Head Coach, Stanley Eguma, said his team is primed to get the necessary points to finish among the teams going to the continent. He said: “We will take it one game at a time. We go back home to work harder for our home games. No game is easy; every game is very tough.

“We have to plan for all games until the end of the season. We are still optimistic that we can get a continental ticket, but we have to work for it. So, we’re still on course.”

Enyimba had a slow start to the season due to what some officials described as a ‘little crisis’ following the change in the club’s management from the highly successful Felix Anyansi Agwu to Super Eagles’ icon, Nwankwo Kanu.

Now that everything seems to have been settled, Enyimba star, Gozie Umeh, said that the team will treat every game going forward as a cup final that must be won.

Umeh told Enyimba media that he is not just focused on personal sentiment; he’s rather locked in on the bigger mission, which is dragging Enyimba over the line and into continental football next season.
 
“With just three games to go and 12 points to grab, we are optimistic to go all the way. We’re taking each game one at a time. I’m optimistic that we can do it and grab a continental ticket.”