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CAF CL: Plateau United coach vents frustration over being barred from Abuja Stadium
By Sabitu Akano
Head coach of Plateau United Fidelis Ilechukwu said adoption of Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja as home ground in the ongoing CAF Champions League has negatively affected morales of his players.
The former MFM of Lagos tactician was unhappy that his team could not have access to train on the main pitch two days before their Sunday first leg match against Esperance of Tunisia.
The Nigeria Professional Football League runners-up adopted Abuja stadium as their home ground after their original home in Jos failed to meet the CAF requirement.
The team encountered a similar problem in the preliminary game against Stande Manji of Gabon, when they could train on the turf one day to the match. Plateau United however, ended up winning the game 3-2 on aggregate.
While speaking to Nigeriafootball.ng, Ilechukwu expressed his was disappointment saying that been treated like the away team reduced their chances of beating Esperance, while assuring that his boys will come out with flying colours against the Tunisian side.
“We have been here since Tuesday and they didn’t allow us to train in the main bowl,” the former MFM and Heartland manager told Nigeriafootball.ng.
“We will do a walkout tomorrow and play a match on Sunday, who does that? There is nothing we have not done to get access to the stadium but they said no.
“Psychologically it’s not good for the team, coming to train in a place they took as their home, a place they believed they have all the advantages and getting to that place and seeing that they did not belong there, it’s very devastating and not good for the team.
“We have prepared for the match, and come Sunday we will give our best to get the expected result Nigerians are expecting from us”, he said.
The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship reasons as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual club football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and contested by 56 top-division African clubs, deciding the competition winners through a round robin group stage to qualify for a double-legged knockout stage, and then a single leg final.
It is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world and the most prestigious club competition in African football.
The winner of the tournament earns a berth for the FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, and also faces the winner of the CAF Confederation Cup in the following season’s CAF Super Cup.
