By Wale Mustapha
Coach Festus Allen of Gateway United has promised fans a rejuvenated and improved team as they prepare for the 2025 football season.
Gateway United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Calabar Rovers in their Matchday Three encounter of the Nigeria National League (NNL) on Saturday in Ilarro.
The only goal of the game came from Kabiru Popoola, marking Allen’s first win as head coach of the Abeokuta-based club.
Despite the narrow scoreline, Allen expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, though he admitted that the result did not fully reflect the quality of play.
He assured that the team would undergo technical and tactical adjustments to emerge stronger for the upcoming year.
“I acknowledge the team’s compact performance; we had opportunities to score more than once,” Allen said. “It was a good game, but the low scoreline doesn’t reflect the flow of the match.”
While thrilled with the victory, Allen viewed the win as a “parting gift” for the fans as the year comes to a close. Looking ahead to 2025, he promised a transformed Gateway United.
“For 2025, expect a rebirth,” Allen assured.
Fans of Gateway United can look forward to an exciting and more competitive team next season as Allen works on refining and reshaping the squad for greater success.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
