Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria’s representatives in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) top competition, CAF Champions League, Enyimba International FC and Remo Stars on Sunday evening have exited the competition in the preliminary round of qualifiers.
NPFL champions, Enyimba FC on Sunday evening crashed out of the CAF Champions League after playing a goalless draw with visiting Ahly Benghazi of Libya in Aba.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe People’s Elephant needed just a lone goal win to progress to the second preliminary round but they could not secure the needed result at their home as the visitors stymied their efforts to score them.
Enyimba had lost the first leg in Libya 3-4 last week and expectations were high that the Nigeria champions will “finish the job” in Aba.
Enyimba dominated the game from begining to the final whistle but resolute defending by the Libyans ensured that the two-time CAF Champions would not go beyond the first preliminary round.
It’s the first time Enyimba is being eliminated at this stage since 2015.
Nigeria’s second representatives in the CAF Champions League Remo Stars were also eliminated from the competition after going down 3-2 on penalties against Ghanaian champions Medeama SC in Ikenne on Sunday.
Remo won the preliminary round second leg tie 1-0 in Ikenne, after Medeama SC had won the first leg 1-0 in Ghana a week ago. The tie ended 1-1 on aggregate, and went into penalty shootout.
Remo Stars needed a 2-0 win margin to qualify to the next round.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
