The commercial city of Kano, northern Nigeria will, starting from Monday December 11 play host to a week of football hostilities as the best football clubs in the country participate in a pre-season invitational tournament.
Reigning league Champions Plateau United, AITEO Cup champions Akwa United, other continental hopefuls Enyimba and MFM are joined by hosts Kano Pillars and Nigeria’s Super Eagles B for the NPFL Pre-Season Invitational Tournament.
Activities for the weeklong event will include the induction and orientation workshop for the four newly admitted NPFL Clubs on December 14 and the LMC Pre- Annual General Meeting (AGM)/Consultative Meeting with NPFL participating Clubs on December 16.
The football tournament will start on Monday with reigning league champions Plateau United facing Enyimba at 3pm. United will be led by their title winning coach Kennedy Boboye while Paul Aigbogun begins his second stint in charge of the People’s Elephant.
Plateau United will be without the trio of goalkeeper Dele Ajiboye, defender Daniel Itodo and winger Peter Eneji who have all been called up to the Super Eagles side for the tournament.
Enyimba will also for the same reason miss the services of new signing Ikechukwu Ezenwa, his fellow goalkeeper Theophilus Afelokhai, Nasiru Sani, Austine Oladapo and striker Ibrahim Mustapha.
The second game of the day sees Akwa United slug it out with MFM FC in Group B at 5pm. MFM will be without attacking duo Sikiru Olatunbosun and Victor Mbaoma but will be hoping to face a fatigued United side who have played twice in the last 48 hours in less-fancied pre-season tournaments.
