JOHANNESBURG, (AFP) – A
disastrous period for Nigerian
football continued Sunday as
Enyimba were knocked out
of the African Champions
League after being held 0-0
by Moroccan semi-final rivals
Wydad Casablanca.
Wydad, who were eliminated
during the qualifiers only to
be reinstated because their
opponents used an ineligible
player, squeezed into the final
1-0 on aggregate after a late
first-leg winner from
Beninoise Pascal Angan.
The final of the premier Pan-
African club competition will
be a North African affair with
Wydad enjoying home
advantage first in the two-leg
November showdown with
favourites Esperance of
Tunisia.
But while Moroccan and
Tunisian clubs could also
contest the second-tier
African Confederation Cup
final this year, nothing is
going right on the football
fields for the most populous
nation on the continent.
Nigeria failed to reach the
Africa Cup of Nations for the
first time since 1986 after
being held at home by
Guinea last weekend and
Sunshine Stars lost before
their supporters in a
Confederation Cup semi-final
Saturday.
Wydad won their only
previous final appearance in
1992 while Esperance must
ditch a ‘chokers’ tag after
finishing runners-up in three
of four attempts to win the
African club football
showcase.
October 04, 2010, 09:55:08 PM