Two-time CAF Champions League champions, Enyimba recently took the backseat in Aba as their Nigerian Premier League match was suspended for the final Aba Traders Cup to hold at the Enyimba International Stadium.
For soccer lovers, the exploits of Nigeria’s most successful should make them the centre of attraction when it comes to soccer but for perceptive followers, any attempt to stage a match featuring Enyimba on a day that the Traders Cup was holding was going to have negative repercussions financially.
CHAMPIONS… Jubilant Enyimba FC of Aba players celebrate with their trophy after beating Warri Wolves at the Federation Cup final yesterday. in Lagos .
The competition, sponsored by MTN Nigeria, was an embodiment of what the Igbo are internationally noted for; trading and soccer. The history of the event is a pointer to the fact that, the Igbo are passionate about trading and soccer. Since trading takes a large chunk of their time, on weekdays, traders in major towns in the South-East, were said to have set aside Saturday and Sunday evenings for the game of soccer, a tradition that has over the years, metamorphosed into what is today known as Traders Cup in Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi and other major towns in the region.
The MTN sponsored Aba Traders Cup competition will mean many things to many people. To some of the Aba soccer fans, it could be just another exciting football competition to savour, to some of the ‘trader- footballers’, it could be just another opportunity to unwind and keep fit, while to a concerned corporate organisation like MTN, it could be seen as another avenue to meet the people at their passion point. From whatever perspective one views it, the Aba Traders Cup has proved to be a wonderful synergy of trading, soccer and ICT (Information and Communications Technology).
The Igbos, apart from being naturally industrious, are also noted for their strong passion for trading, a profession in which they have acquired world-wide reputation. Apart from trading, they have also carved a niche for themselves in the famous game of soccer. Going down memory lane , one remembers the good old Rangers International of Enugu, Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri, Jasper United of Onitsha, Udoji United of Awka and lately, Enyimba of Aba which at various times, ran the show in African football. Till date, teams from this region are still dictating the pace in the Nigerian Professional Football League, while the Igbo have also contributed a very good number of players, male and female, to our various national teams.
The competition may have come and gone, memories of the competition and its high points will linger on in the mind of those who were part of it.
The company ensured that the top four teams went home with cash prizes and trophies. Osisioma Canopy Pillars, which emerged champions got of N400,000, while first runner-up Iheoji Model Market Traders Association got N200,000. Engine Zone Osisioma Modern Market got N100,000 for finishing third while God’s Chosen Line, Ariaria got N50,000 for coming fourth.
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