NPFL reigning champions, Enyimba, have come under fire after the team's poor display in their most recent match against Wydad AC
Reigning champions of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Enyimba, have provided an explanation for the handwritten jersey number worn by Innocent Gabriel Okey during their recent clash against Wydad FC, Soccernet.ng reports.
The nine-time NPFL champion, played host to the Moroccan team on Sunday evening at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, marking the first leg of the quarterfinals in the African Football League.
During the match, keen observers noticed that Innocent's jersey number three was handwritten instead of the usual printed format.
Enyimba’s Innocent Gabriel wearing a Jersey with the name and number hand written in the #AFL
Very very bad PR for our league…
@papilokanu & @EnyimbaFC do better❗️ pic.twitter.com/PBa6ebQkVd— NPFL News 🇳🇬 (@NPFL_News) October 22, 2023
In response to criticism from the Nigerian football community, Enyimba has clarified the reason behind the handwritten number.
Nigerian football journalist Tobi Adepoju revealed in a tweet that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) had registered Okey's number as three instead of five due to an error made by the team secretary.
“During the registration with CAF, he was registered as number 3 jersey instead of number 5. It was a costly error from the team secretary. They found out when the match was about to start, and there was no way CAF would allow him to play with the number he wasn't registered with.” read the tweet.
Enyimba's response on the subject matter;
During the registration with CAF, he was registered as number 3 jersey instead of number 5.
It was a costly error from the Team Secretary.
They found out when the match was about to start, and there was no way CAF would allow him to… https://t.co/Cx1EPFBvC9
— Adepoju Tobi Samuel 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) October 23, 2023
Enyimba, often referred to as “The People's Elephant,” lost the match to Adil Ramzi's Wydad FC with a score of one goal to nil.
They are now preparing to secure points as they travel to face Wydad at the Mohamed V Sports Complex in Morocco.
It’s a Wise move.