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After initial fears
of a possible boycott by the defending champions; Enyimba FC of Aba,
the Federation Cup finals will go ahead today at the Sani Abacha
Stadium in Kano. The Peoples Elephant, in their quest for the treble,
will confront the surprise of the season’s competition, Kaduna United.

Enyimba who have
already been crowned Premier League champions added the Super 4 title
to their trophy cabinet last weekend and the team’s captain, Okey Odita
believes the cycle of trophies will be completed in Kano later today.

“It has been a
tough season for us both on the local scene and on the continent but
one thing that keeps us going is the thought of lifting trophies, I am
confident that we will not relinquish the Federation Cup title to
Kaduna United on Sunday,” he said.

Lagos replay

Odita was handed
the Federation Cup last year by the Lagos State Governor Babatunde
Fashola after defeating Sharks by a lone goal. The final match was
played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. Odita said he was looking forward
to a similar showing this year in Lagos before organisers announced a
change of venue – choosing Kano for the final instead.

“I have good
memories of the final match played in Lagos, it was one of my best
matches and so I was happy that I would be returning there for another
final match but that notwithstanding I still hope for a very good match
in Kano and I believe we would be victorious at the end of the day,” he
said.

Odita is however
not expecting an easy game as he reckons with the capability of Kaduna
team which finished 10th in the league table, 18 points behind Enyimba.

“Kaduna United are
definitely not a small team because they have done well to reach this
stage of the competition and we will not underrate them at all. I know
that they beat Rangers before getting to the final, and that means they
are a very good team. But we are ready for them because we are not
afraid of playing any club whether in Nigeria or Africa.”

History in the making

However, while
Enyimba are gunning for their third trophy of the season, Kaduna United
are craving their first ever big silverware. The team which has been in
and out of the elite division of the Nigerian League is currently being
handled by experienced Belgian coach; Maurice Cooreman.

No team from Kaduna
has ever won the Federation Cup which gives a greater motivation to the
Kaduna-based team to make its own history in the competition formerly
called the Challenge Cup. Cooreman will be gunning for victory with the
hope of re-enacting the form that made him win the league title with
Ocean boys of Oghara in the 2005/2006.

Already a key
figure from the Kaduna state and former Super Eagles player; Garba
Lawal is backing the team to make history in Kano today.

“Kaduna teams have
only gotten to the finals twice before but have also lost in both
finals. I hope the story will be different on Sunday, the state
deserves the trophy and I believe the boys can make us all proud,” he
said. One thing Kaduna United will not lack going into today’s match is
fans support as Kano is just over an hour’s drive from Kaduna.

Meanwhile, a third
place match will precede the final match with losing semi-finalists;
Rangers International facing Sunshine stars. While Enyimba edged
Sunshine out by a lone goal, Rangers lost out on penalties to Kaduna
United.

Appeal to fans

Wary of a possible
crowd trouble, former Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim
Galadima has urged Kano fans to avoid doing anything that will breach
the peace of the city.

“I am using this
medium to appeal to our numerous football fans in Kano not to do
anything that will breach the peace during this all-important match,”
said the former NFA Chairman.

He said there was no cause for alarm and expressed confidence that
the commercial city would host a successful and exciting final.