Top Nigerian side Enyimba FC on Sunday departed the country for Sudan ahead of midweek’s Total CAF Champions League (TotalCAFCL) clash with Sudanese side Al Merrikh in Omdurman.
The People’s Elephant edged Burkina Faso champions Rahimo FC to reach the penultimate stage to the money spinning group stage of Africa’s flagship club football competition where they will face a Sudanese side for the second year running.
Ahead of Wednesday’s game, a group of upbeat players and officials departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Sunday afternoon aboard an Ethiopia Airline flight heading to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The team will have a stopover of about four hours in the Ethiopian capital before completing their trip with a two-hour flight to Khartoum, Sudan, expecting to land at about 2am local time on Monday, 1am in Nigeria.
The Enyimba contingent is led by the team’s Chairman Felix Anyansi-Agwu and comprises of players, coaching staff and members of the club’s management.
While in Sudan, the team will have a feel of the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman, venue of Wednesday’s game against Al Merrikh on Tuesday afternoon before the big showdown 24 hours later.
Enyimba head coach Fatai Osho told www.aclsports.com shortly before departure that they are upbeat and well aware of the task at hand.
“We have to raise our heads above water. We have to be resilient. We know what we want and we have to go for it. It won’t come easy. We are aware of that,” said Osho.
Wednesday’s game has been fixed for 3pm local time, 2pm in Nigeria, with temperature expected to be at 34°C in the East African city.
